Jesse Jimenez
Less than twelve weeks ago, Jesse Jimenez was homeless and without any hope of things getting better. Every night he would sleep in Welch Park in San Jose on a cold hard bench. In fact, he had been homeless for so long that he had forgotten “what a warm bed felt like” or “what a shower was.”
Life had not always been so difficult for Jesse. Not long ago, Jesse lived with his sister and had a stable job. After he began having problems at home however, he decided to leave. Without a place to live, he found it difficult to maintain a job and was soon homeless. In an attempt to forget his life on the streets, Jesse began drinking. Pretty soon that was all Jesse did.
In May, a San Jose police officer took notice of Jesse and emailed EHC LifeBuilders to see if they could help. Joe Russo, an EHC LifeBuilders’ Program Manager, went to Welch Park to meet Jesse. Joe learned that Jesse was a homeless veteran who had served in the Vietnam War. Jesse hadn’t eaten for two days and didn’t know anything about the area’s homeless shelters or services available to him. Joe told Jesse about EHC’s Boccardo Reception Center and gave him a bus token to go to the facility.
Upon arriving at the center, Jesses was fed, given a bed and connected to an array of services. He was quickly signed up for Medicaid and SSI and finally got the glasses he desperately needed. As an alcoholic, Jesse qualified for some special support through EHC LifeBuilders’ Housing for Homeless Addicted to Alcohol program. The program aids chronically homeless individuals by providing them with rental assistance and case management, as well as personalized mental health and substance abuse counseling to help overcome addiction.
This week, Jesse Jimenez will be moving from the Boccardo Reception Center to his own apartment in downtown San Jose. For the first time in years, Jesse will finally have a place to call home and has stopped drinking. More importantly, for the first time in years Jesse has hope again.