Derek spent almost two years at Heroes Hope. Before he left, he wrote out a list, in his own words, of everything that changed for him during that time. We’re sharing it here mostly as he wrote it, because it says more than we could.
How he got here
Derek’s path to Heroes Hope started with a loss, his mother passing, and the disruption that followed. For a while, he was moving between a friend’s place, a motel, an Airbnb, and his car, with no steady answer to “where am I going to lay my head tonight?” A conversation with Evan Doogood at Be Heard connected him to Sean, Heroes Hope’s founder, who verified his veteran status and got the process moving, including a hotel room over a holiday weekend while a room in the house was being prepared.
In his own words: 25 things that changed
- Heroes Hope gave me renewed hope in my life.
- They strengthened my resolve to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in my heart. See, at one point, God had spoken to me inside on where to go look for help, Finally I obeyed and followed his lead. I went to see Evan Doogood of Be Heard. When I did, Sean Lord, the founder of Heroes Hope was on the other side, waiting to help pull me up. He cut through all the red tape and verified I was a Veteran. That began the journey.
- On Labor Day weekend, when a lot of things were closed, busy and booked up, he put me in a nice hotel room for 4 nights until the room in the house was ready.
- He rescued me from living out of my car, bouncing from parking lot to parking lot, a friend’s house here, a motel there, Airbnb’s, and the thoughtlife of “where am i going to lay my head tonight?”
- Heroes Hope provided for me basic human needs. Food and shelter: A nice, safe, clean house with a room and a bed. (A nice queen size bed.)
- Heroes Hope gave me stability.
- They didn’t charge me/us rent or any bills. This gave me what I needed, a little breathing room and not having to rush right back out into the hustle and bustle, find some job & just repeat the same cycle. This was a game changer.
- God, through Heroes Hope, was giving me another chance to “push pause”, and re-evaluate my life, my decisions, & direction.
- There were many nights in my room I lay in the bed and was overcome with a spirit & feeling of gratitude. I was so thankful to God simply for my bed and room and feeling safe. That was very real to me. I used to whisper to him the words, “Thank you.”
- Staying there changed the trajectory of my life. My walk with God became closer and more personal.
- While living there I was able to eliminate some credit card debts that kept hanging over my head. They kept me stuck in a loop and my credit score remained in the lower numbers. This by itself was a huge win.
- While living there, I was able to pay off my car. Hallelujah! Now, I own the title & do not have to carry the load of that payment with me when I leave.
- While living there, I was able to raise my credit score significantly. To be specific, it went from the high 500’s to the mid 700’s.
- To me, that house on Cherry St. was literally God’s house. I told that to everybody there often including the Heroes Hope officials. I believed that and still do.
- Because I believed it was God’s house, the spirit gave me a desire to help take care of it and become a good steward of it.
- It helped rebuild my sense of self pride or esteem & self respect by taking care of the lawn, the kitchen, and the whole house in general.
- They asked me to be the house leader / coordinator. At first I shied away from it. Soon, I welcomed the challenge. I helped to make the house successful and that’s the truth. As a thankful man of God, it was my duty and my honor.
- Living there helped me to learn to get past personality clashes and pull for a peaceful house and common goals.
- They helped me get into the position to get back out on my own and have a nice apartment again.
- While there, I was able to attend Central Tech Driving School in Drumright, OK and achieved a CDL license with a tanker and hazmat endorsement. I was hired with Groendyke. However, the reason I’m not driving with them now is because it came to pass that I needed a rotator cuff surgery. But I still have the license and plan to use them up the road once everything heals up.
- Now that I left, I have this feeling and desire for “The New”.
- It gave me time and space to heal and come back from my Mother’s going home. When she died, something in me died too. This happened shortly before I went homeless. Her dying is a big part of how & why I went homeless and wound up at Heroes Hope. That’s another story though.
- I got a job at the Hyatt Regency Hotel as a banquet server. I needed a job something like that after Mom’s going home. Soon I will be starting my own business.
- Literally, The good Samaritan walked off the pages of the Bible and into my life the day I spoke with the founder of Heroes Hope.
- In my spirit, I saw like a revelation of Jesus Christ the first few days of me encountering Heroes Hope. In other words, it’s like I saw Jesus that day.
Where he is now
Derek has his own apartment, a new job, a CDL he’s ready to use again once he’s recovered, and a business he’s working toward. He’s also writing a letter to the Heroes Hope board to thank them directly, we’ll share more of that when it arrives.
In his words:
“THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOU GUYS HAVE DONE & WILL DO. YOU GAVE ME HOPE.”