Stephen Carter, SafeLots Offer Hope and Help

Last May, Stephen left the West Coast and a stable administrative job in a medical facility and moved to the Denver area to escape from an unhealthy relationship and get a fresh start. After some time looking for a place to stay, and with his savings dwindling, he found himself living in his car.

Stephen soon experienced the misconception many people have about the homeless, such as they are lazy, dangerous, or hopeless. He felt looked down upon – if even acknowledged at all - and it quickly impacted his morale and stamina to keep trying to look for jobs and solutions. He started doubting himself, and it was hard to stay hopeful.

In June, Stephen found out about SafeLots and was welcomed not only by Pastor Ben from the host site but the whole neighborhood. Turns out, drug dealers had often used this very lot after hours to conduct their business. Now that it is occupied overnight by SafeLot guests, it has served to keep the nefarious activity at bay.  As the only male at this particular lot, the other guests felt safer having Stephen there. Neighboring residents have welcomed its use as a SafeLot, not only because it serves the people sheltering in their vehicles, but a secondary benefit is it also helps to keep the drug dealers away.

Because he could only access shower facilities once per week and didn’t have the business wardrobe for jobs such as the one he left behind, Stephen searched for any opportunity that could earn him money. Fortunately, he found a part-time retail job during the day and eventually a night job as a forklift operator. He was working 80 hours per week so that he could save enough to move to adequate, stable housing when an opening in an affordable apartment unit arose. Because of his hardworking, trustworthy and caring nature, a volunteer offered him a room to rent so that he no longer needs to sleep in his car.

Little by little he is building back his life. Stephen feels grateful for the SafeLot community who helped get him on a better path. Through his experience as part of this SafeLot community, the self-confidence and sense of self-worth that deteriorated when he began experiencing homeless has improved. Stephen feels strongly that the public needs to be more understanding of those who find themselves unhoused. And he wants others to know that just as there isn’t one reason that people become homeless, there is not one solution to helping them. It will take many threads to weave together a stronger social fabric to address this issue. SafeLots and CSPI support services are a valuable part of the options needed to address and improve the situation for those in need and the communities in which they live.