David

Rebuilding

A regular guest at the HTC who always manages to make the staff smile, you might recognize David from his interview with WGNO’s News with a Twist Kenny Lopez about the “tiny house” that he moved into in August. In the news story by WGNO, which you can watch by clicking here, you can see David’s first happy “homecoming” to the tiny house that he lived in for months, in the parking lot of the Harry Tompson Center. Now, though he is living at St. Michael Senior Housing and someone else calls the tiny house home, he hasn’t forgotten how living there for several months helped him get back on his feet, and he has plans to assist in building the next tiny house.  “It was a come-up from the streets… I was able to close both my eyes and sleep for the first time in a long time.”

David was born and raised in the heart of New Orleans, and graduated from Booker T. Washington High School, one of the several schools that had to be closed post-Katrina. After the death of his parents, unfortunate family circumstances left him living on the streets for the first time in his life. David has had a very versatile work history, but unfortunately he suffers from idiopathic epileptic syndrome, which makes it very difficult to maintain a job as there is no warning for his seizures. He jokes that he is destined to hit all the potholes in life- He claims that if there is one anywhere, he will find it.

Despite all the obstacles he has faced, David has still done his best to keep a positive attitude, saying that he does his best to not “carry stuff” from the past, going so far as to even forgive the circumstances that caused his homelessness. He says he has survived this long by setting small goals, and reaching them step-by-step. Furthermore, he focuses on the good things in his life, such as his pride in his daughter, who recently graduated.

He is very grateful to everyone at the Harry Tompson Center, especially to Executive Director Vicki Judice, because he feels that it is thanks to the help, guidance, and encouragement given to him by HTC staff and volunteers that he has made it to where he is today. Like his former high school, which is expected to reopen in the near future, David has begun to rebuild.