Last year I was living In my car from late December to the end of May. I wrote a book about the experience called “From Hell To Eternity.”

While I was out there on the streets I learned alot about why people are out there in the first place. I learned about the choices people are forced to make between eating that day or going to work and how much the services that are meant to help the homeless really just add to the problem.

For example if I wanted to eat at one of the soup kitchens I had to tell my boss that I was going to be late to work. After a while that doesn’t sit well with the employers. I believe this is one of the reasons that people panhandle in the first place. But counting on another man for my own upkeep is not nor will it ever be a strength of mine.

Today I am going to be extra tiered at work because I had to get a blood draw that keeps me healthy or relatively healthy at leased. My shift starts at 14:00 and ends around 02:00 hours. But that is life. Some days because of my blood disorder I am in too much pain to want to face the day yet I have people who are counting on me and I muscle through anyway. Through an incredible turn of events I am no longer homeless and I am thriving in my job with a defense contractor. At least for now. I have yet to be paid.

I have an incredible girlfriend that is raising her daughter on her own, although I would gladly be there for both of them.

But looking back on my time on the streets of Vancouver, I saw little to no personal growth until the day I gave my life to Christ. It was only then that I made a choice to start making the changes needed to work my way off of the streets.