Homeless to Housing Success Story: Meet Donny in His Apartment

This past March I was in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, speaking at a homeless conference. Whenever I can I ask to be taken out with an outreach team to meet new people. I have to be honest, there is a reason I moved from Upstate New York to Sunny, Southern California -- I hate cold! It was so cold I thought my face was going to fall off. I was close to asking them to take me back to the warm car when we say a man in a doorway.

Donny has been homeless over twenty years. Watch the original video I taped that night here http://bit.ly/fJvq5k. He had nothing but a blanket and the heating vent from a local business to stay warm. I honestly don't know how he survived.

Thanks to the wonderful people at Calgary Homeless Foundation Donny now has a home. After Donny's video was posted the Calgary Homeless Foundation went out and found him to get Donny into housing! This is a near textbook model of why Housing First model works. It's nearly impossible to get sober while living on the streets. People need dignity and self-worth. Once Donny was in an apartment he decided to change his life. He has stopped using drugs and is even looking for a job.

Local CTV News also covered the story "Homeless success story " http://bit.ly/pHL9a1

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• FlipShare
• calgary
• homeless
• homelessness
• canada
• invisiblepeople.tv
• invisible people
• mark horvath
• housing first

[XoXoSakuraKissXoXo]

GOOO DONNY!!! :)

[cdltpx]

@cdltpx Good reason for not wanting to deal with people that show signs of trouble. Reason is they are trouble ! Sounds like this guy is heading right back to his vomit he is associating with homeless allowing them to stay where he clearly should not allow them he jeprodizes his place he has now. His best bet is to get clean stay clean. If he wants to help others; become a SUCESS story PROVE that they are not risking it all by giving them a hand. Donny glad you are off the streets don't blow it.

[cdltpx]

I was an apartment manager a guy came to us with a broken jaw. He was in such pain we let him move in and did the background check later. That night he threw a party he was faking the pain we had him arrested that night I served his eviction notice to him in the jail cell we then moved his ass out he was brought to us by his former manager the manager was so weak he agreed to help him move just to get rid of him. He terrorized the last manager thousands in damage. We cleaned his clock good.

[ex0rdium]

thank you for the wonderful work you do

[AnnyaMoon]

Wonderful! God bless you all and Donny. He takes care of his kitty and wants to do better.

[InvisiMan2006]

Awesome!

[swami24u]

good job

[mycreativefreedom]

Exactly... you see, now Donny wants to help other people. He's in a better position to. That's why it's so important to help to take action with this kind of thing. I've been briefly homeless a couple times. Once for 3 weeks in the cold winter. With the right help, good people will make forward to get ahead. I did. Good education to help people get ahead is very important. I didn't have it. Now that I do, I'm glad. This is a really good movement here. Love it.

[justmom66]

It is so awesome to see this guy happy and in a house. It was your video Mark that helped this happen. Without your video he would not have been seen. God bless you Donny and may it only get better for you and your little kitty =]

[0inasuitcase0]

That's awsome! And without your video Donny would not have had the opportunity to be heard. So good job to you to, mister!