“For anybody to do something extraordinary, I think you have to experience a deep personal loss. The kind of loss that sets a fire inside you. Passion is the combination of love and anger.” -Dave
Hello again Discovering Sarah readers! As I mentioned earlier, today I am posting two blogs entries. Spotlight on Homelessness is my second entry for the day.
My reason for focusing on homelessness in my blog is to give a face to the word homeless. According to a 2009 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress, as many as 3.5 million Americans experience homelessness in a given year; the word homeless being defined as the lack of a permanent, safe and affordable night-time residence. Approximately 1 in 50 of those Americans are children.
What better way to bring a face to homelessness than by introducing people to individuals I have encountered through my personal experience with this issue. One of those individuals graciously offered to let me interview him for my blog. He is a 42 year old man named David who does not want to be defined by the word homeless.
David considers himself a displaced worker. He had enjoyed a successful career in real estate before the housing bubble popped, spewing disaster all over real estate agents, homeowners, loan companies, and pretty much anyone that had anything to do with home ownership at the time.
Like many others affected by the housing collapse, David lost his job, his car, his home, and found himself squatting in abandoned buildings with other Bohemian types (as he calls them) whom he'd met on the beaches of Miami. He didn't feel comfortable living in shelters, not sure whether he could trust the individuals he would find there.
In January of 2010, he decided to return to his home state of Michigan and attend school for Entrepreneurship. He'd had a burning idea for a virtual real estate business, and hoped a background in entrepreneurship would help him turn what was a just an idea into a reality. He soon realized that he wasn't gaining the kind of knowledge in school that he'd hoped would help him with his business plans, so he deserted his college plan and decided to strike out on his own.
It's never easy going against the grain and trying to create a business, especially when all you have in your bank account is $16. It's like Oprah says though, “Do what you love and the money will follow”. She would know, right?
So, that's what Dave is doing; following his dreams and doing what he loves. He's got no money, no car, and has been relying on the shelter system for nine months. One thing he does have, though, is an idea that he believes is going to mean everything for his future. He drives a Yellow Cab to to help save toward his goal of reaching permanent housing. His immediate plan to obtain housing is to purchase a distressed home and reside in it while he makes home improvements.
On his days off from driving cabs, Dave is working on his real estate business, and searching for a partner to form an LLC with. In the not so distant future, he would like to see himself residing in San Francisco at the helm of a booming business that is ready to take on luxury properties. His real dream, however, is to work in the entertainment industry.
Dave developed a screenplay based on his experiences squatting in Florida entitled “Squatter’s Paradise”. It's a story about a guy who makes a few bad decisions and loses everything, but eventually gains it all back. He says it is a story of persistence, having a belief in your talents and abilities, and never giving up.
Although Dave has lost a lot, he feels a greater passion inside himself than ever before. Like the character in his screenplay, he is determined to never give up on his dreams. Who knows? Maybe one day I will be blogging about an Academy Award winning movie called “Squatter's Paradise”. As long as that fire keeps burning inside him, anything is possible.
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