Stephen H. - Don't Judge a Book By Its Cover

Stephen H. is a 62-year-old man who overcame homelessness in Northern California. 

Stephen grew up in Brooklyn, New York as the oldest of his four siblings. His mother was a pastor and he described himself as “just your average guy.’ At age 16, Stephen moved to California with his family. He did not want to leave New York stating “I cried on the plane all the way here.” However, the minute he registered for high school in his new home, he “forgot all about New York,” claiming “it was a different atmosphere.” Stephen had many successes in high school, making the honor roll his junior year and graduating. Stephen was extremely grateful for the new environment California granted him, stating “I don’t think I would have graduated high school if I stayed in New York. ”

Following his high school years, Stephen began college. While in college, he made minimum wage working at a gas station to earn money while continuing his schooling. After a year in college, Stephen decided to save more money and took a semester off to work. Finding that he had more passion for his career, he never returned to school. 

The highlight of his career is Stephen’s service in the Marine Corps. At age 21, Stephen enrolled in the Marines and served four years until he found career passions elsewhere. Stephen worked several jobs including a valet parker and in-house security for hotels. 

Stephen found steady work throughout his lifetime and did not have trouble with housing until the pandemic arose. “I was at my new job for two weeks when they declared shelter in place.” Stephen struggled to make ends meet as he could not continue to work, quoting “I had just got a new job but I never went back after two weeks of working.” He later moved in with his sister but ultimately began to sleep in his car.  

Stephen lived in his car for a year and a half until he was found by local medical officials who deemed him unhealthy due to high blood pressure. Stephen was then granted a waitlist position to be put in shelter care. In December of 2021, Stephen was transferred to a hotel where he lived for six months. Shortly after these six months, he was transferred to another hotel where he lived until May 2024. 

Throughout Stephen’s time in the hotels, his nurses had deemed him “unable to work.” Stephen noted that he “had blood clot issues, had a history of high blood pressure, and a minor heart attack in 2015.” Even while he stayed at these hotels, Stephen remained busy. Stephen enjoyed cooking. “I loved cooking and I would do stuff in the hotel room… I had a hot plate and everything. I would cook meals and take them out to share with other people.” In the past year, Stephen connected with Insight Housing, which specializes in helping veterans obtain housing. Stephen is also involved with Miracle Messages, in their Miracle Friends program and shared that it has enriched his life. After years of waiting, Stephen received a voucher this past May asking if he was looking for housing. “They showed me four different places, three apartments, and a one-bedroom house. And that's where I am now, it just happened in May!” 

As Stephen reflected on being unhoused, he recalls a time when he went to visit a high school class to disengage the stigma around homelessness. To the class, he described a scenario he conducted with his friend. When his friend was dressed like “a bum” no one would sit near her on the BART. However, when she was dressed “in a nice blouse and pants” no one batted an eye. At the end of this lesson Stephen quotes “Don’t look down on the homeless, anyone can be homeless, certain things can go wrong at the wrong time.” 

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This story was written by Project WHY's Journalism Intern, Mya Oro.