Overview

I need $500 to pay the security deposit for a new apartment. This includes all the funds needed to pay the initial deposit on an apartment.

As I prepare to leave PATH a group of people who believe that I have much to offer the world and community surrounds me. They are helping me to establish a non-profit organization that will maximize my skills. I will be working on this endeavor on a part-time basis for the next year while working in a combination of part-time jobs.

Unfortunately, they are not able to help me with the next step in my transition and that is funding to get into a residence of my own. That is where you come in. I can afford a modest apartment but the security deposit that is required is at this moment is beyond my financial capability. Your help in funding a security deposit will go a long way towards returning to independent living.

Meeting this need will help me get back to doing what I do, and with an added sense of purpose from what I learned in my time at PATH.

Meeting this need will help me achieve future goals because it means I can plan to move with the assurance that I have the resources to do so.

Although not trained in the field, my skills as a writer and public speaker, combined with great curiosity and interest in a variety of fields, led me to becoming the news and public affairs director of a major radio station in the San Francisco Bay area.

Ultimately, this led me to becoming the CEO of a non-profit agency in Los Angeles. I accepted the job in part because it was supposed to be a temporary job lasting two years at the most. 18 years later when the property became too valuable for its current use the building owners chose to sell the property to the highest bidder. With that transaction, I lost my home as well as my job with very little advance notice.

Since I became homeless, I have spent time with several well-trained and educated therapists to help me understand the decisions that I made that made me vulnerable to this turn of events. More to the point, I have acquired new tools to address the ongoing changes that come in life.

My name is John-David. When people who know me discover that I live at PATH they are hard pressed to understand how someone like me can end up in a place like this. By way of introduction, you should know that I am college educated in music and theology. I have enjoyed success as the executive director of several non-profit organizations, general manager of several computer stores as well as in my own business.

I think of myself mostly as a systems administrator and counselor.

I'm most proud of the relationships I've established with former students, many of which have lasted over 30 years.

Validated

Validated by Matthew from PATH (What does this mean?)

I would really like to encourage you to support John David. He is an individual that has been staying in our residence here and somebody that has really impressed me with his intelligence, with his depth, and with his ability to overcome obstacles in his life. So anything you can do to support him, to help him out as he transitions from a rough spot to a beautiful future would be greatly appreciated.

About Matthew

My job title is Associate Director, PATH Los Angeles. I have been in this position since May 2011. In my role, I have the task of overseeing our emergency shelter in West Los Angeles. My work involves helping homeless individuals find housing and employment as they work towards… Read more