Tales of need are not difficult to find. Those who reach out for help are the heroes of their own story, with our staff, volunteers, and community partners playing supporting roles. There is no end to the potential for growth and self-sufficient living. And, while many of those we serve are facing chronic hunger, stark homelessness, debilitating crisis, or crushing uncertainty, there are those who are hard at work, with quiet determination to make better decisions and choosing a life where anything is possible.

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Meet Victor.

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Victor walked out of prison on January 10, 2023. Forty-eight hours later, his life changed forever.

 

With only clothes and a handful of paperwork, he missed the bus that was scheduled to take him to Oxford House where he would be living. In despair, he turned to the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), who in turn, referred him to the Arlington Community Resource Center.

 

He made his way to the office in Smokey Point on January 12. He recounts leaving his then-wife outside because he was already stressed out about being sent away from DSHS. And her becoming increasingly irate at not being able to light her cigarette was more than he could handle.

 

Victor entered the office and encountered Patty, an intern from AARP, who offered him food. But he wasn’t hungry. He could only tackle the immediate hassle, which was getting his wife’s cigarette lit. Patty ushered him into the office of Site Director Marlydann Dugger, whose first question was, “What do you need right now?”

 

“A lighter,” be blurted out. Marlydann couldn’t provide one but probed further. She noticed that he was “nervous and sure that missing his appointment meant that he was now facing homelessness.” She reached out to Oxford and explained the dilemma. “[The housing services rep] reassured me that Victor could still move in and offered to come pick him up and take him ‘home.’ This would be the first time that ‘home’ was a reality for Victor [in over 5 years].”

 

This encounter was the first of a weekly meeting that continues today.

 

Homelessness, divorce, debilitating anxiety, and living in a rigidly planned environment in both prison and at Oxford House had destroyed his confidence to make decisions and be responsible for himself. When he would show up on Thursday afternoon, he didn’t always know what he needed. He just knew he felt safe. Every conversation gives him the strength to keep moving forward. Every bit of advice, he takes it to heart. He doesn’t know where he’d be without the ACRC, knowing they believed in him before he could believe in himself.

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In between navigating the web of Social Security Disability, child support modification, transportation logistics, and employment, Marlydann and Victor discuss things like time travel, light bulbs, and the time she gave him a burrito because he was hungry. It turns out, he didn’t eat it until he got home. “I was at the bus stop, and it was cold. I was freezing. And I was so hungry, but I kept that burrito in my pocket to keep me warm,” he says without a hint of irony.

 

Even after the ACRC moved to its current location on First Street in downtown, Victor maintains a standing appointment. It's mostly out of tradition or habit, but also because Marlydann continues to be a support while he begins to trust himself again and reintegrate productively into society.

 

He now works the Taco Bell drive- through and is amazed that he can make $17 per hour, live clean, and feel “ready to face life by myself. I’ve gone from my wife leaving me at a rest stop holding a plastic container of food to working and driving.”

 

He encounters many people at the drive-through window or wandering about outside. “I tell them, ‘These people [at the ACRC] can help if you’re homeless or hungry. I mean, I was grateful when Marlydann handed me a sleeping bag, shirts, and underwear. But I had no idea of the full potential of this place.” 

 

Never stopping to think of the progress that’s been made is largely due to his own efforts, he calls Marlydann his life coach, a title she refuses to accept. “It’s all him,” she emphasizes, appreciating his newfound confidence in his ability to “do life.” And on this most recent Thursday, Victor is still learning the idea of full potential. This time, it’s his own.