A spiral into homelessness, chapter two

When Steve walked out of my office on July 8, I sensed that he was optimistic. To say he’d been down on his luck would not fully describe the difficulties he had faced. Until that moment, he had been a few days from being truly homeless after medical and financial bombshells exploded the basically normal family life he’d been living. But several people had read and been moved by the column he wrote and we printed on the Appeal’s Opinion page on July 6. In it, he did not ask for help. His purpose, he said, was to show others how quickly and unexpectedly it can happen. Here’s how he ended that essay: "Both my wife and I are unemployed professionals and we continue to wonder if our prayers are being heard. Our 30-day eviction notice came to pass 11 days ago. We left behind a 60-day delinquent utility bill, our rent 60 days... [read full story]