My Homelessness Ended … But My Work Didn’t

An October 2026 update on the people and conversations that have become part of my life since finding housing. The two older residents described here are deliberately unnamed. Their situations are still changing.

On September 1, I moved into a room of my own.

That first night, I slept all the way until morning. I hadn’t done that in years. Even when I was sleeping on the warehouse floor, I always seemed to have one eye open.

Detoxing from homelessness

For the first time in a very long time … I’m actually relaxing.

I’m no longer carrying a tote bag everywhere I go. I can leave my things in my room and know they’ll be there when I come back.

I’m sleeping through the night. I’m not having panic attacks all day long like I was before.

It’s almost as if my mind and body are finally figuring out that they don’t have to be on alert every minute.

I’m detoxing from homelessness.

I don’t know a better way to describe it.

And there’s another milestone coming that might sound pretty ordinary to most people … I’m going to have a bed.

My parents have agreed to buy me a bed frame and mattress. It’s been over 15 years since I’ve slept in an actual bed. For so long, I’ve been sleeping on the ground in a bedroll that it became normal.

Now I’m going to find out what sleeping in a bed is like again.

I hope I like it! 😁

These might seem like small things, but to me they’re huge. Having a room was the first step. Learning how to relax in it … that’s something else entirely.

Getting a room changed my life … but it didn’t make me forget the people I met while I was experiencing homelessness.

I’m still thinking about them. And now, when I can, I’m helping them work through some of the same obstacles I had to navigate.

An 84-year-old woman … and a chance for a safer winter

An 84-year-old woman I know is now staying in a hotel rather than at Torres Shelter.

We’re working toward a placement in the same temporary program I used after leaving Torres. If it comes through and works for her, she could spend the winter somewhere other than the shelter.

That’s progress … but it isn’t permanent housing, and the next placement is not yet confirmed.

We’re also exploring longer-term housing possibilities with Chico Housing Action Team (CHAT).

I don’t want to announce an outcome before it happens. I’m just grateful that she has somewhere different to stay right now, and we’re still trying to find a more lasting solution.

An 83-year-old man … getting benefits and housing back on track

I’m also helping an 83-year-old man work on getting his Social Security benefits reactivated.

He’s agreed to go into Torres for the winter, or until we can help him move into a better housing arrangement.

We’re exploring CHAT as a possible longer-term option for him, too.

That doesn’t mean he has been accepted for housing, or that his Social Security situation is resolved. Both are still works in progress.

And those are exactly the kinds of details that matter. So much of helping someone move forward comes down to making calls, understanding requirements, following up, and not giving up when a process takes longer than it should.

Taking the conversation into the community

My attention hasn’t been limited to helping individuals.

I recently held a Zoom conversation with Barbara Poppe and several people from our community to talk about homelessness and how we might move forward in Chico.

I came away thinking more seriously about finding common ground … and about having conversations with people who may see the problems, and the solutions, differently than I do.

I’ve also made contact with Chico Mayor Kasey Reynolds. She invited me to coffee, and I’m hoping we can sit down and talk soon.

We haven’t had that conversation yet, and I don’t want to presume where it will go. But I appreciate the invitation.

If we want to make progress, we have to be willing to talk to each other … even when we don’t agree about everything.

Five to Thrive … giving a little back

Something else has changed lately. I’ve given away more money in the last few weeks than I made all last year.

I like carrying $5 bills and giving them away … not just to people experiencing homelessness.

Sometimes I’ll pop into a coffee shop or another eatery and put a five in the tip jar … for no reason other than I figure the people working there can use it.

Sometimes I’ll hand a five to somebody experiencing homelessness.

It’s not limited to one group of people. I just like to share what I can, where I can.

I call it “5 to Thrive.” 😁

The five also stands for five basic needs that I believe should be provided on a not-for-profit basis:

Shelter
Water
Food
Healthcare
Education

Those five things are at the foundation of a dignified life, as far as I’m concerned.

The other day, I wanted some $5 bills, so I took $40 out of an ATM and went to get change. But the bank wouldn’t simply exchange my money for eight fives. I had to show identification and deposit the $40 back into my account before they would give me the smaller bills.

All that … just so I could hand out a few fives. 🤔

Why were they so protective of $5 bills? Is there some concern about illegal activity, or is this simply how the bank keeps track of cash exchanges? I don’t know.

I just know it struck me as a strange amount of bureaucracy for forty dollars.

Anyway … I got my fives.

And I intend to keep sharing them when I can.

Not a victory lap … just the next steps

I’m not going to pretend that a hotel room is a home, that a shelter bed fixes homelessness, or that a possible placement is the same thing as a placement.

Neither of these older neighbors has a permanent housing outcome I can report today.

But they’re not just statistics or examples for a speech. They’re people in my community, and there are practical things we can try to do alongside them.

I still have questions about the system. I still believe we need more options. And I’ll keep asking for changes when I think things aren’t working.

At the same time, I want to keep doing what I can … one phone call, one conversation, one neighbor at a time.

My homelessness ended. I’m finally learning to relax … but my concern for my neighbors didn’t end with it.

Building • Fixing • Serving. 😁

This entry describes what I understood and was working on as of October 17, 2026. The older residents’ names and exact lodging locations are intentionally withheld. Pending benefits, temporary placements, and CHAT housing possibilities should not be read as confirmed outcomes.