For more than a decade, Kareem lived in survival mode. Long before he ever heard the name Wayspring, he was working full-time, driving buses, helping kids with disabilities, and serving his community through different state and city jobs. To anyone watching, he looked like a person who had everything under control. But the truth was something he carried alone: he didn’t have a home to go back to. He walked miles and miles across town because he had no form of transportation, he slept on basketball courts or benches and often stayed awake for days at a time because closing his eyes felt too dangerous.
He had tried many resources and shelters. But even with the best intentions, the shelter environment was overwhelming for Kareem. The crowded spaces, lack of privacy, and the instability that can come with communal living often triggered past trauma. He experienced moments of theft and conflict that made it difficult for him to feel safe. After years of disappointment and danger, he stopped trusting every system altogether. Living outside felt safer than returning to any shelter. And still, he kept going, even after being denied support over and over again.
Years later, after working a shift at his local Walmart, he became extremely warm and started seeing spots. His face quickly drooped, and his speech became slurred. A coworker noticed something was wrong and immediately called 911. At the hospital, he learned he had suffered a stroke on the left side of his body. It was time. He needed actual help.
Much later, someone asked if he’d ever heard of Wayspring. He hadn’t, but he took down the number anyway. His first connection was through calls and texts with a man named Dan, and something felt different from the start. Dan didn’t judge him. He didn’t talk down to him. He was honest, supportive, and consistent in a way Kareem wasn’t used to. And when they finally met in person, Kareem described it as “a ray of sunshine”, the first time in years he felt a weight lift off his shoulders. Dan brought him clothes and shoes from a local resource center when he noticed Kareem had been wearing the same shoes for a long period of time. He checked in on him, listened to his story, and learned why Kareem avoided shelters. For someone who had been ignored for so long, being heard mattered.
The moment everything shifted was when Dan told him he had good news. He said he might have a place for him, a single-bedroom apartment. Kareem didn’t react at first. After more than 10 years on the streets, the good news felt unreal. But then they signed the paperwork. Then someone handed him a key. And suddenly, after a decade of sleeping outside, he walked into his own home.
Adjusting wasn’t easy. He kept his belongings arranged the way he had when he was experiencing homelessness, so he’d know if anything moved. He sat in silence, trying to convince himself the walls were truly his, that his coffee would still be there when he came back. Even safety felt overwhelming when he hadn’t had it in years. But with his Wayspring team supporting him, including Dan and two additional engagement specialists, Lindsay andClarence, and Shaniqua, his therapist, all supporting him, the adjustment slowly became healing. He realized he finally had privacy. He finally had stability. He finally had peace.
Today, Kareem is rebuilding his life piece by piece, going to regular therapy, showing up to Wayspring events to express support, and leaning on the people who never stopped showing up for him. He wants to share his story so others know they can climb out of any situation, too, even when it feels impossible. For a man who once had no family at all, Kareem now proudly says that he has a big one—Wayspring. They’re the people he trusts. The people he calls. The people who helped him believe in himself again.
“I feel like I’m somebody again,” Kareem said. “That’s what Wayspring gave me.”