STORY TELLERS
Frederick Sherman is a 46 year old African-American male. He now works during the day and goes to school at night. Frederick is the loving father of two boys who are 4 and 7 years old. He is also a veteran. It is hard to believe that not too long ago he was homeless.
For Sherman , homelessness became a reality when he was in middle school. His mom and dad were violent. Shortly after his parents divorced, he was himself homeless. His entire life changed dramatically, and he no longer knew who he was, what the future held for him, and where he would live. He wandered about the community. His family didn’t have much and his father was at odds with him so Sherman questioned if he deserved what he had. He began to hide in crowds because he had no self esteem or other sense of self-worth.
During his homelessness journey; he struggled with self approval, maintaining relationships, anger management, and fear of being found out. Sherman ’s biggest contributing factor became the use of substances. Sherman writes “I was treated as an outcast, worthless, a form of financial strain, and literally considered scum.” He felt that he didn’t deserve his rights as an American. Suicidal thoughts developed out of his desperation. Thankfully, he was directed to the VA emergency room. The VA connected Sherman with Stand Down House.
Fredrick is now substance free and is viewed as a mentor and is trusted by his friends, loved ones, and community. In 1-5 years he sees himself “still clean, involved in ministry, reunited with my sons, still included in the Stand Down ministry, graduated from college and striving towards being a small business owner. "