When I met Mike, I immediately sensed his warmth. He greeted me with a kind smile, his easygoing energy filling the room. As we sat down to talk, his kitten moved around my legs, inspecting me, shy but curious. It was clear that Mike cherishes his space. “I can finally relax,” he would later tell me. “I can be myself.”
Mike moved to Vermont over 20 years ago to care for his mother. For ten years, he was her caregiver. But when she passed in 2015, he had nowhere to go. He became homeless.
He found housing a few times, but loneliness made it hard to hold on to. Twice, he was evicted for taking in friends who had nowhere else to go. The third time he lost his home, he ended up on the streets of Burlington in winter.
For two months, he struggled to survive. “I nearly froze to death,” he says. Hunger became a constant companion. “I was eating out of the trash,” he remembers. “When you’re starving, you’ll do anything to eat. But the worst part wasn’t the cold or the hunger. The worst part was how I was treated. I knew in my heart I deserved better.”
He eventually found shelter in a motel, where he lived for a year before connecting with Pathways Vermont’s Housing First Team. “Thank God for Pathways,” he says. With their support, he searched for apartments, navigated paperwork, and advocated for his needs. Finding housing wasn’t easy – units went fast, and because of his disability, he needed a first-floor apartment. When one rental opportunity after another fell through, Mike and his team didn’t give up. “I just tried to stay positive.”
In October 2023, after three years without stable housing, Mike finally moved into his own apartment. Even then, it took time to adjust. “It felt strange – like I didn’t belong.”
Now, more than a year later, he’s settled. His apartment is a place of privacy, of peace and quiet – something he fought hard for. He’s focusing on getting a good reference from his landlord so that when the time comes, he’ll have more options. “I’d love a bigger unit one day, but I’m happy where I am.”
Mike thrives on connection. “I’m a social butterfly,” he says with a smile. In the past, when people needed help, he opened his door to them, even when it put his own housing at risk. Now, with a strong support network, he doesn’t feel that same pressure. Having a community – people to turn to, people who care – has made all the difference.
As we wrapped up our conversation, Mike thought for a moment and said, “every person’s story is different.” His has been one of hardship and resilience. Now, for the first time in years, he has a place to call home. “I take nothing for granted,” he added.
