Well, a lot of people ask me, “Why don’t you smile?”
I have had this problem all my life. People say, “You look good when you smile, Mike.” But for a long time I never smiled. It wasn’t because I wasn’t happy. I just didn’t have a reason to smile.
When I was growing up I was always depressed, trying to fit in with everybody. By the time I was 18 years old I had dropped out of school with a 3.4 GPA because I was working two jobs and I thought my life was good. But I lost both of my jobs, so I moved to Ocean City, Md., to start over again.
When I first got to Ocean City I got a job working at a hotel as a housekeeper. A year went by and I was doing good work, so I went to visit my family in Washington. One of my uncles was working at the University of Maryland and he asked me if I would like to work there with him at the warehouse. So I quit my job and moved back with my aunt and uncle.
I started at the warehouse, and after three years there was an opening for a loading dock manager. I applied and got the job two weeks later. At the age of 23 I was a manager and I thought I would never have to look for a job again. In 2008 my aunt died. She was like my mom and so it was hard for me. I got laid off a few weeks after she died.
My life went downhill after that. I lost my apartment and everything. I was couch-hopping for a while. Then it started getting cold, and I went to the shelter. I stayed in the shelter for a week and I just could not stay in there. It was very unsafe for me. That was when I was really on the street.
I had to learn how to live on the street, and let me tell you, the street will EAT U ALIVE if you ask a question. I found a couple of places where I could go eat lunch or dinner and take a shower. I would ride the bus or train to get some sleep. I used to sneak into an apartment complex at night and sleep in a closet a few times a week to get some good sleep.
To get money I would ask people at the Metro station, but it was hard because most people would give me a nickel or 30 cents or, if I was lucky, someone would give me a dollar. It was like, one day you got a job and a place and the next day you don’t have anywhere to live or a job and what you gonna do?
But now I look back and “smile” because I’m back on the right track, all thanks to Street Sense and the readers. If I had never joined Street Sense, I would probably be locked up or dead. I can’t give enough thanks to the readers and to Street Sense. Now I smile every day. Thanks to everyone, I got my smile back.
