Mike lived his life on the streets. Then a United Way program helped him find a new home.

“I used to be into drugs. I’d sleep where I could. I’d push a shopping cart around and pick up scrap metal. I’d walk miles and miles every day. It got to a point where I was getting older, couldn’t walk around, couldn’t push carts. I was freezing in the winter. The cold gets into your bones - you don’t sleep. And I didn’t want any more, I wanted to change. I found the Meeting Place, and I found people just like me. Bit by bit, I started to change. You have to have places like this, because homelessness is not going away.”

“20 years later, and I have a little place to call my own. This is heaven up here. Now, as a volunteer, you can’t describe some of the help that people need. You know, if you could just go there and bring a smile on the faces of a few people every day, life gets better.”

– Mike
 

“I had the opportunity to get involved with the United Way, trying to address homelessness and developing and spreading that local love. If it’s one person’s life who’s transformed as a result of the hard-earned dollars that individuals have donated, that’s worth it to me.

– Asare