Living in the Shadows: Jerry’s Story
Living in the Shadows is a monthly blog written by the City of Auburn’s Anti-homelessness Outreach Coordinator Matt Landis.
Jerry is 73. He served our country honorably during the Vietnam War in the U.S. Navy, completing a tour during the late ‘60s to early ‘70s. He was honorably discharged and built a life for himself down in the south before relocating to the Pacific Northwest after the death of his roommate. Experiencing joblessness at a car wash he was working at led him to homelessness in our area before he found our city shelter — the Ray of Hope. This is where the life change began to happen.
During the last year plus, City of Auburn Anti-Homelessness Outreach Program Administrator Kent Hay, and Anti-Homelessness Outreach Coordinator Matt Landis have been working alongside Jerry to obtain resources, including veteran’s housing. During this time, Jerry has also been a valued member of the community contributing wherever he can. His friendly, fun and gregarious demeanor, willingness to give you the shirt of his back if you need it, as well as pitch in around the community has made him beloved. Auburn Food Bank Executive Director Debbie Christian (whose team oversees the Ray of Hope Day Center and the Sundown Shelter) reports, “Jerry has been a delight to work with and we are so excited for his new future.” The city’s outreach team is excited as well because just recently — in partnership with the Catholic Community Services SSVF program, which assists veterans in obtaining permanent housing as soon as possible — we learned that Jerry was approved for an apartment in the Federal Way area. He has a new place to call home and will have a supportive community to support him.
“I feel excited and ready for my new move,” Jerry said. “They’ll have the place furnished right after Christmas so I’ll go into the new year with a new home.” This captures the dogged pursuit of housing and other services that occurs each day in the city for our neighbors whose roof is a shelter, or the stars under the sky. Congratulations to Jerry — one of our nation’s heroes — on this special achievement1 that the city is proud to feature this month.
