Ruben

Hi, I’m Ruben. After a tough year in this pandemic, I’m working toward building more stability and finding a place to work that I really enjoy. The Mission staff members care and help me along the way.

Our family moved a lot while I grew up. My single mom and 6 kids followed her around Boise in Idaho. With all that moving, I couldn’t focus well in school, and became kind of a class clown. In 11th grade I dropped out and got a GED later. I stayed home a lot until moving out in my early 20s. I followed my ex fiancée to Oklahoma where her family was, but we had relationship trouble. For seven years I moved back and forth from Idaho to Oklahoma.

After we broke up, I moved to California and had trouble with a person who was angry and suffered through substance use disorder. Back to Oklahoma City I went, then to Tulsa. During this time, I worked low wage jobs, gained and lost apartments, stayed in shelters, and even slept on the street now and then. I’ve been on the street a few times, and I’d rather not do it again. Every time I found stability, the rent would rise or I would lose a roommate, and I had to move out.

Three years ago, I transferred a job to Rochester New York, but that became part time, and I couldn’t sustain myself easily. A friend suggested Boston, so I looked around Boston. I bounced between Boston and upstate New York for a while. It’s tiring to move all the time, but I guess it’s what I knew as a kid.
At the Mission, I’ve found a place of solitude. My case worker checks in with me regularly, and cares about my future. I really appreciate those—staff and donors—who help out people who need to heal. Now I’m more grounded, more mature about my situation, and grateful for what I have during this health crisis.