William’s Car Troubles Leads to Opportunity

Meet William

William is a product of the countryside of Georgia in the 1960s. He refers to himself as a “country boy.” He’s a large man, with a calming presence. He grew up with three sisters and two brothers. He describes his upbringing as normal. He had a strong, strict father. “He didn’t play, and the household was full of respect,” recalled William, with a chuckle. After graduating high school, William went to Motor City to work at Chrysler and Ford, being part of the assembly line. Because of layoffs brought on by the changing automotive industry, William wasn’t in the industry long. William said, “It was getting to the end of the good times.” He found himself bouncing from job to job, but nothing was able to allow him to support himself like the automotive industry. Eventually, William followed his sister to sunny, southern California. He enjoyed his time in California but moved back to Georgia, wanting to be closer to his roots. It wasn’t until 2023 that he returned to California. 

William’s Journey

William moved back to California because “Times got hard, and I decided to go somewhere where the weather is nice,” says William. At this point, William was living in his car and would find different odd jobs to support himself. Unfortunately, his car broke down, and his health deteriorated, which led to him having no shelter and no ability to work. According to William the hardest part of being homeless is “Finding somewhere to get some rest.” William checked himself into Huntington Hospital and learned that he had a blood clot in his lungs and later found out that he had an infection in both of his feet. The social workers at Huntington Hospital connected him to Harbor Care to complete his recovery. 

How Harbor Helped William

 “At first, I thought it [Harbor Care Center] was a homeless shelter, I had no idea it was this type of place. A place that has a clinic, hot meals three times a day, and round-trip transportation to see your doctors,” William recalled. He initially was skeptical, thinking, “What’s this place all about?” Later, as days went by, he concluded, “This place is a very nice place. It’s much better than being on the street or being in one of those homeless shelters.” Harbor has been able to help him get healthier physically. In October, William turns 70 years old so he’s looking forward to receiving his Social Security benefits and getting into a senior citizen housing facility. William urges people in situations like his to take advantage of the opportunities Harbor provides. He said, “I got a lot of medical issues. If you have services take advantage of them. That’s the way I see it. Don’t just lay up in bed and watch television.” William is determined not to return to the streets.