Jeremy

Jeremy is from Price, Utah but has been living in Florida, far away from home for the past 3 years. He just returned to Utah less than 2 weeks ago and is already missing the warm, beautiful Florida summer. He admitted that he is not looking forward to the Utah winter, especially the thought of the cold nights he will be enduring on the streets. But when I asked him why he left, despite loving Florida so much, he replied, "My family needed me."

Jeremy told me that his life was pretty normal until he was 17 years old. He was going to high school and living the life of a normal teenager who loved parties, friends, and sports. But everything changed and his world crashed down around him the night that his mother overdosed on heroin and died. "I really started going downhill fast after that," he told me, and described how he turned to drugs to cope with the pain. Drug addictions led to contention in his family and trouble at school. Eventually, he dropped out of high school, packed his bags, and tried to get as far away as he could. "I just wanted to leave everything behind me and run away from the pain," he told me.

Although homeless, Jeremy still loved his life and friends on the streets of Florida. Life was still not easy, and he admits that he still struggled with drug addictions and doing "dumb things" that got him in trouble with the law a few times. He told me that when life seems to hard, he likes to remember his mother. Jeremy proudly showed me the tattoo on his chest. His mother's full name and the dates of her birth and her death are printed directly above his heart. Jeremy told me that he loves the constant reminder of her and knowing that no matter what, she is always with him.

I was impressed that Jeremy was willing to leave everything he loved in Florida behind and to come back to Utah to help mend his relationship with his father and to help his 5 younger siblings who are still struggling with the loss of their mother. Even though he isn't sure how he can help, he wants to do all that he can to do the right thing and to be here for them.

This kit delivery was made possible by a donation from: Dan Moyes, Schertz, TX