Eddie’s journey to Charlotte was not easy, but as he describes it, it was ordained by God.
He was raised in Clermont, Florida, with his close-knit and loving family and began drugs in his 20s. The battle with drugs persisted for many years, leading to an on-and-off addiction to crack cocaine. “Crack cocaine has been my struggle for many, many years. I would not do it, and then there are times I would do it,” Eddie says.
The battle with addiction is not an easy one, as almost 21 million Americans struggle with addiction today according to AddictionCenter.
This consistent battle led Eddie to struggle in ways he never expected. Eddie found himself around the same people and was caught in a cycle – he knew he had to get out. “I have friends who are my age now that are dead, sleeping in their grave,” Eddie says. “And I tend to ask God, ‘Why me? Why did you allow me to still live?”
Eddie felt it was time for him to leave familiar people, places, and things, so he came to Charlotte to get a new start. The moment he hit the ground in Charlotte he knew he was in the right place, and because of his faith, he persisted to trust God.
Eddie has been with Roof Above for nearly a year and has been moving forward ever since. His case manager Charles Moore says, “He showed up, got a job, has experiences in cooking, just made supervisor at his job. They’re looking at making him a manager. He did the work, and he continues to do the work. I’m proud of him.”
Eddie is now working toward housing in Charlotte and hopes to bring his nephew from Florida to provide him with the same opportunity. Through his hard work, Eddie thanks Roof Above for supporting him in his journey, “This place is designed for us to better ourselves, for us to pick ourselves up and make a change toward housing, toward not being homeless, toward not having to struggle or for food, our family.”
This Hard-Earned Victory encompasses the nature of why we do what we do. We believe that homelessness is not a fixed state, but a temporary experience, and if we can provide housing, we can end homelessness one life at a time. Let’s unite in that mission.
