We continue to work to change the lives of several team members through our program.  Here are some highlights of those life changes…

One of our team members was Thomas H.!  

To give you a little background about Thomas, he became homeless as a result of COVID-19, as he lost his job and exhausted any financial nest egg he had built up for himself.  He tried to stay working and keep some form of an income coming in by going to Home Depot each day and being picked up from there as a day laborer.  Although not steady work, he did learn many valuable skills that he uses today.  Unfortunately, this income was not enough and he ended up losing his apartment, as he couldn’t afford to live there.  He initially stayed with friends, but felt like he was imposing on others and didn’t like that, so he landed at a homeless shelter.  

He was allowed to stay at the shelter for 90 days to get back on his feet.  He stayed for 2.5 months and then found out about the Guiding Light Initiative.  He worked through our hiring process and realized this was a great opportunity.  He would be able to start a job that he was comfortable doing and would enjoy.  He would also get assistance with a roof over his head.  He is enjoying his house.  It is only a 15 minute walk to work, which he doesn’t mind.  Currently he does not have a car, but he will get one eventually.  He is focused on rebuilding his financial nest egg to ensure he doesn’t end up in a homelessness situation in the future. 

Below are some pictures of him getting the keys to his new, furnished home and truly starting the process of getting back on his feet and turning his life around.  We are so proud of Thomas and are so glad we were able to help make a difference in his life.  Here’s to helping many more team members in the future!

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Another team member was Luther P.!

Luther grew up moving a lot.  He and his mother were always running from Luther’s father, who was abusive.  He also lived with different relatives throughout his childhood that were in California and Ohio.  

He ended up in Miami, Florida.  Miami is challenging for a young black male to grow up when living below the poverty line.  Luther unfortunately got involved in the wrong crowds, which resulted in him being incarcerated for an extended period of time.  This experience forced him to do some soul searching and figure out what he wanted to do with his life.  

Luther tried to start his own handyman business, but that was unsuccessful.  He moved to Ohio, but was victim to a house fire and lost everything there – personal belongings and his car.  He took this loss as a sign that he shouldn’t stay in Ohio.  He decided to go back down to Miami to try to get his life back.  He didn’t have much money to his name – maybe $1,200 at this time.  He tried to get back on his feet, but struggled to find stable housing.  He ultimately became homeless.  

At that time, he found out a woman he was in a relationship with, was pregnant, which resulted in a significant life change.  He had gotten a car at this point, but was living out of it with his pregnant girlfriend, which was quite challenging.  At times, he would have to sleep outside, which was very humbling.  Luther tried to go through a shelter, but they were either full or had unrealistic requirements that he couldn’t meet regarding curfew, that didn’t support his need to have a job. 

Luther saw an advertisement for our guiding light initiative on Facebook and didn’t have much to lose.  He had a young daughter at that point, whose mother was in and out of the picture, so he had to find stable housing and employment to be able to raise her properly.  Even considering his situation, it did take him 3 days to click on the link to understand more because he did feel it was too good to be true!  

He then started speaking with our Recruiter about a Maintenance Technician opportunity and the rest is history!  

Here is an updated testimonial from Luther after being employed with Riverstone Communities for some time:

“Very appreciative of this program – at the time when I ran across the program – I was in a very rough period of my life (homeless etc.).  I never thought homelessness would be a problem that I would have to deal with, but it escalated so fast and got quickly out of control before I knew it.  I had heard of programs like this, but hadn’t heard positive things, so I didn’t have high hopes of success.  But, I didn’t have anything to lose, so I tried it.  Ultimately the program took away a lot of stress and helped me get my life back on track.  I am forever grateful for this program.  I am currently working on my second year of employment with Riverstone Communities and I couldn’t be happier.  I appreciate the opportunity to do work that I enjoy doing – that has been an added bonus!  Ultimately I feel that I owe Riverstone, as there was a lot of help provided before I even had a chance to prove myself. I definitely appreciated and needed the help up front – it was nice it was available to me.  Riverstone Communities took a leap of faith on me and they helped to turn my life around.  Homelessness usually leads to incarceration and I am so grateful that wasn’t the case for me.  I appreciate the support to thrive and better my life.”

Here are two testimonials from team members that have worked with Luther who also value and appreciate the Guiding Light Initiative and what it can do to change lives…

 “Riverstone gave a team member of mine a house and helped him to get back on his feet.  He has been with Riverstone for over a year, which is a big deal for him.  He is beyond grateful for this opportunity.  I am also grateful that we were able to help him.  He has a young daughter too that is now getting into childcare and is flourishing.  The team member that started with us is very different then the team member I have now – he has grown so much and is in such a better place.  Riverstone has also helped him with car struggles, which is in addition to anything offered through our homeless initiative.  We have always been there to help him.  He has an amazing work ethic and has also learned a lot, to where he can help others as needed now.  He has gained experience in a lot of areas, which is helping Riverstone immensely.  He teaches me maintenance knowledge, which I greatly appreciate.  He is a pleasure to work with.” – Jenny Sanchez

“This program continues to reinforce the reason why I love working for Riverstone Communities.  It fully supports our mission as an organization.  The fact that this program saves someone from homelessness and helps families recover and get back on their feet, is just remarkable.  I appreciate that I can be a part of something that helps to change lives.  I want to be able to help people and make the world a better place – that is part of my own personal value system.  I love that the organization that I work with supports my personal values.  As I have gotten to know our team member who has been a benefactor of this program, it is amazing how humble and appreciative he is of the opportunity we have given him.  He is also an extremely hard worker, as a result, which is a win, win on all fronts.  I can lay my head down at night and know that I have had an impact on someone’s life, is just an amazing feeling.” – Melissa Loeffelbein

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Another team member was Doug H.!

Doug had always been able to support himself and his family by being a driver of some sort – truck driver, courier, street sweeper, box truck driver etc.  However, he had become burnt out from the profession and decided to leave it, which unfortunately also meant that he quit his job and thus lost his income stream.  He wasn’t able to secure employment quickly enough, subsequently lost his residence and became homeless for approximately a 10 month period.  

He was living in and out of his car and a motel (as he had money to stay there).  Ultimately, he was referred to a homeless shelter, where he was able to get free food and free showers.  Doug was unaware at the time that this was an available resource for him to utilize.  

The homeless shelter was certainly helpful, however, had limitations on how long Doug could stay, so he wasn’t there for longer than 60 days.  During this 60 day period, he was in and out of odd jobs and an income stream.  

At his lowest point, he had to sell his car to get some money and was left with just his duffle bag filled with the few belongings he had.  He was able to get back into the homeless shelter to avoid being on the street.

Ultimately the homeless shelter connected Doug with our Guiding Light Initiative program and was able to help him just in time!  He started employment with us on the last absolute day he could stay at the shelter.  The stars truly did align here in a great way!

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Here is a testimonial from a team member who experienced homelessness in their life prior to coming to work for Riverstone Communities, however, he would have greatly benefited from and appreciated the opportunity to have had a program like ours available to him at his time of need.  It would have helped him get back on his feet much quicker!

“At one time in my life, I was “couch hopping” from one person’s house to another.  I had to use others’ addresses, so that I could apply for work, as most employers won’t even consider applicants that don’t have an address.  If I had had the homeless initiative program available to me when I was going through this time, it would have killed two birds with one stone.  It would have solved my lack of a home problem and my lack of a job problem.  It would have taken two major pressures off of my plate.  

I wanted to remove the added stress, as added stressors/life pressures can cause you to make drastic decisions that you might regret later and I wanted to avoid that for myself.  It is a struggle when you are constantly worried about having enough money to manage basic needs and our program would help to alleviate that.  Having housing and employment covered – it helps with how you conduct the rest of your life, which has a big impact.  A program like ours, allows people to become overall better people and helps them with their overall decision making.  Those types of serious life stressors make people desperate and angry, causing them to lash out at others (for small reasons, that one wouldn’t react to under normal circumstances).  

This program would help a deserving person sustain employment and have reliable housing to where basic needs are met.  It is important to have both, because a job without a home is still quite challenging.  I knew someone who would hop trains at night and he was exhausted when he came to work, which isn’t helpful.  It is great that our program offers both, as they are needed for ultimate success and a complete life turnaround.  Our program helps to build a much needed foundation for others to get back on their feet.  

I am grateful to work for an organization that offers such a program to others and I am thankful to be a part of making the program better and ultimately changing lives.”  – Sakai Kearse

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Here is a testimonial from a team member that recently joined our team who was a referral from an amazing partner – Entryway!

The Guiding Light Initiative has given my son and I a roof over our heads. My son is back in high school now. His goal is to graduate and gain some steady footing and be able to move on with his life. I am not living in the streets and have a home and a job, as a result of this program. I now have a steady paycheck that allows me to feed myself and my family. I am on top of my bills and my rent. I am overall happy to be working and to have a place to call “home”. – Steven Derby