Michael

Michael* was 25 when he first came to JFS. At the time, he recognized that he needed help – he couldn’t work, maintain relationships, or keep housing. As a result, Michael had no income and no place to live. From there, he spiraled down into chronic homelessness which further impacted his ability to use healthy coping skills in stressful situations.

It took over a year for Michael to be connected with a mental health team. Once he was, things started to look more positive for him; he was temporarily housed as well. It felt like things were going well for him until he experienced another mental health crisis which led him to lose his housing and he ended up homeless again.

“I felt quite vulnerable to be on the streets and I needed a hand up.”

After 10 years, Michael came back to JFS, but also reached out to other community agencies. “I was trying to get motivated and resolve issues in my life, including finances and my quality of life.”

Michael had faced rejection many times, so he needed time to build rapport and trust with his care manager. While he was in and out of shelters, Michael kept coming to JFS daily to check in. With the support of his care manager, he was temporarily housed until the opportunity for long-term housing arose.

“Once I moved into permanent housing, I realized that I had the opportunity to change my life and future.”

There are still many things that Michael finds triggering, but conversations with his care manager helped him realize that he needed more support for his mental health. Once he accepted that, Michael was ready to act on it; he connected with a JFS mental health outreach worker, got started on new medication, and started to proactively reach out whenever he needs support.

Mental health challenges are often unpredictable and can create chaos and turmoil. For people like Michael, good mental health support offers the structure and predictability that is required to build a more stable life.