Richard has battled epilepsy and mental illness his entire life. Born during Eisenhower’s last term in office the doctors in Richard’s hometown of Iowa proposed “treatments” to help with his disabilities. His parents blocked that medical plan, which included a lobotomy.

Richard says he loved camping, looking at the stars, and swimming as a boy. He learned the ways of the woods from his Native American counselors. His Dad taught him how to ride a bike without training wheels too, but most of all he loved playing board games. Richard was called the “game master” and the local newspaper featured him for his passion of games. His favorites include Scrabble, Mousetrap by Mattel, Chinese checkers, Dominos and Clue.

“My Mom and Dad were gentle, kind and loving and didn’t mistreat my sister and I because we were handicapped,” Richard says, “My Dad was a prisoner of war in Korea. He taught me that kindness and patience and understanding for others and being positive in life is the best way to live.”

Richard says every time he had a job eventually his epilepsy took hold and shook him without mercy, labeled a liability by his employers he was terminated. Determined to work and refusing to get disability he traveled the country going from job to job working in hotels, restaurants and thrift stores.

“I wanted to keep working as long as I could. I’m almost 60 and I am on disability now,” Richard says. “I get up early in the morning before the sunrise, while the stars are still out. I take my tent down and pack up, grab my shopping cart, and take everything to my storage unit and get myself ready for the day.”

The same stars Richard saw camping as a boy he sees now as man traveling from the river woods into to town, finding a safe place to rest and get a meal at Friendship Park.

“It’s better to live in the woods than to live in a hostile environment,” Richard says “If you keep it negative, you are just going to stay where you’re at. When you start being positive, you move forward–eventually you will get out of that rut in no time.”

Michael’s eyes sparkle as he laughs while counting off the number of occupations he’s sweated through in his lifetime. He says he was as a firefighter, certified welder, diesel electrician, maintenance worker, a railroad man and helped build the light rail system in Sacramento, too.

Michael says he was drafted in 1969 and went to Vietnam to fight “the good fight” in the war and try to stay alive. This proved difficult when a commanding officer told him because of his wiry thin frame and winning high school wrestling record he was going to become a tunnel rat.

“They wanted me to go down into the holes and crawl through the tunnels that ran under the jungle and get the enemy to come up out of there,” Michael says. “I lost half of my high school graduating class in the Vietnam war.”

Michael lives in Guest House now and likes the programs they offer. Their outreach to the homeless community helps him stay busy and give back. Guest House is a recovery center for people who are displaced or who are working their way back from addictions or have just come out of lockup Michael says.

“Last week I volunteered and worked in the kitchen here at Friendship Park to help feed people. I also volunteered at Winter Sanctuary last year too — I’m transitioning into a better place,” Michael says.

David is a 63-year-old Sacramento native and father of four who dropped out of high school in the 11th grade to work hanging sheetrock and plastering houses with his father. David has been unsheltered for ten years. He talked to me about the devastating loss of his entire family and how a felony charge has derailed his life.

David tells me as a young man he met and fell in love with a beautiful woman. They began to build a life and had four children together. After being in the relationship for fifteen years, David thought they would never be apart, but drugs crept into their lives.

“My girl, my love, my heart took off with a drug dealer. She took my sons and moved to Oregon. After that day everything went dark and I didn’t have the will to live. I haven’t seen my sons in 32 years,” David said.

David left Sacramento after that and went to Oklahoma for seven years but returned to Sacramento when his brother, Van, who was doing “drug stuff” was beaten up very badly. Van passed away from his injuries shortly following the attack. Soon after the death of his brother, David’s mother, father, auntie and uncle passed away all within a year. “So now I’m here by myself. I don’t have nobody,” David said.

David tells me he started getting very angry and frustrated and his mind was messed up by the loss of his family and being alone. He “got with a girl” and his frustration and anger took over and he went to prison on a four-year felony spousal abuse charge.

“I should have had more control. I did four years in prison and that really messed up my life because that was a felony charge, so it’s almost impossible to get an apartment or a job. You shouldn’t have to hit anybody to get your point across,” David said.

“What really helped me was the judge’s stipulation for me to go to Sacramento Community Based Coalition (SCBC). When I got out of prison I went to SCBC and I had a bed there,” Davis says. “The program helped me. It made me stronger, made me open my eyes and made me understand not only my feelings but understand the next person’s feelings too.”

David tells me after SCBC he “caught” a misdemeanor charge because of a disagreement with a neighbor. Because of a felony charge on his record, David spent four months in county jail. After he was released from jail, he suffered a series of strokes. With his support system gone, he wound up on the street.

“When I was discharged from the hospital after my strokes, I was discharged to the street. I’d never been homeless before. I was scared, I didn’t have time to be mad. I just laid down on the sidewalk,” David says. “That was ten years ago, and I’ve paid my dues. I want to be part of society and if society won’t let you in, how are homeless like me going to get off the streets?”

David tells me he is on the verge of getting “inside,” he has a case manager helping him but it’s tough because his SSI isn’t really enough to live in Sacramento with skyrocketing rent. With a felony, he has been denied apartment rentals even though he met all of the qualifications.

“You can’t go backward, but you can always do better going forward, and that’s what I’m doing,” David said.

Gloria says she first tried crystal meth at a party with her friends in Tulare County over 25 years ago. She used Meth daily after that in part to help numb the layers of pain, grief, and trauma of sexual abuse she survived as a child.

A 54-year-old mother of 2, Gloria tells me an overdose and a failed suicide attempt pushed her in the direction of a recovery program that rescued her from over two decades of addiction.

“I saw myself floating over my body and I saw myself ask my boyfriend for help, but he had his headphones on and couldn’t hear me, so I asked God to help me and then I woke up on the couch.”

Gloria found herself at Sutter Hospital battling pneumonia and having to answer tough questions by the staff like, “Did you try and hurt yourself?” When Gloria answered courageously and honestly, “Yes,” the staff at Sutter helped her get to Turning Point Crisis Residential where they guide guests like Gloria into transitional housing and addiction recovery programs. From TPCR, Gloria was accepted into Sister Nora’s house which is where she lives currently.

“I’ve been off meth for five years and I haven’t had a drink in twenty-six years. I’m super clean and I go to NA and AA and I try to keep myself positive every day. I refuse to lose anything anymore, I’ve got to stand up for “Me” because that’s all I have,” she says.

Gloria wears a small, delicate Wonder Woman necklace and when she talks about what that means to her she smiles and says, “Stand up for yourself and be strong. Don’t be afraid to say “No” and always be who you are supposed to be.”