My life has been a rollercoaster

 Victor was born in Anchorage, AK. At 7 the family moved to Spokane. At 14 he was out living on the streets homeless on his own. I asked about his parents and he shook his head, saying, “I hate to admit it, but we had serious family issues, it was very dysfunctional.”

Within months of living on the streets Victor had his first experience with heroin. He hated it. Began mixing Meth with the heroin and loved it. At least at first. With the bitter cold of Spokane winters he began traveling, came to Seattle, to the big city.

Fast forward 10 years and Victor is now 24 years old. He lives in a tent with his dog Melody. She’s his best friend. For good reason, she’s a really sweet dog. They have a connection that is beautiful.

When Victor and I first met he was pushing a drug needle into his foot. I watched while he searched for a good spot. When the moment seemed right I asked, “How’s it goin?” He looked up at me with a WTF look, and said, “I live in a rat-infested tent and I’m addicted to a combination of drugs that would kill me if I did not keep taking them. How am I doing? Not good, I’m scared, I’ve never been this rock-bottom before.”

Six days ago Ed and Clair introduced me to Victor. They are superKIND people serving folks living outside through a Mutual Aid group known informally as North Seattle Neighbors. They had arranged to get Victor into detox and then a 28 day treatment program, wowWOW!! The last piece to solve was to find someone to watch Melody for the month. They were hoping someone from the You Know Me Now community would step forward from the post I had agreed to make. Half an hour later, with Melody working her charm, I called my wife to ask if I could bring Melody home for the month. My wife is a serious dogLOVER. She said yes.

 It was an overwhelming moment for Victor. He was facing the daunting medical task of going through detox / rehab and at the same time trusting that I would not only take good care of Melody, but that I would return her to him when the month passed. He had no way of knowing if either would work out. 

As it turned out, Victor made it only five days before leaving the facility. It was too much for him. I brought Melody back to him and Ed brought him a sleeping bag. Victor felt ashamed. He said, “I’m sorry I let you down.” I said, “Hey, have you heard the phrase, fell off the horse 9 times, got on 10.”

The positive out of this is that Victor has a new circle of friends that are going to stick by him. Victor said today he wanted to try again, to get back on that horse. Clair immediately began looking for openings in a treatment facility. So much LOVE.

An ASK - If you want to send a letter or card of SUPPORT to Victor, telling him he can do this, believing in him, giving hope, send to: Facing Homelessness ℅ Victor 4001 9th Ave NE, Seattle WA 98105.

So much LOVE for you Victor. You got this brother!