Gerald Shiroma

59, Los Angeles

Last summer Gerald Shiroma boarded a plane at LAX, and headed to the Big Island of Hawaii. Such a trip would have been impossible five years earlier when Shiroma was homeless, addicted to meth and deeply in debt to his family.

Born in Los Angeles to Japanese American parents, Shiroma got clean, and saved enough money to repay various family members and bought a ticket to Hawaii. The trip was a homecoming for Shiroma and a chance to celebrate his Aunt Mildred’s 100th birthday.

“He always said he wanted to see Aunt Millie one more time before she passes,” said his cousin Eric Sunada, who traveled with him to Hawaii.

On April 8, less than a year after his trip to his ancestral home, Shiroma died from complications of COVID-19. He was 59.

Shiroma spent most of his adult years living with his parents in West Covina, his cousin said. When they died a decade ago, they left him their house. Within a few years, Shiroma lost the house and his connection to his extended family.

In 2015, Sunada, along with another cousin, introduced Shiroma to theUnion Rescue Mission on L.A.’s skid row.

“I remember distinctly when Shiroma first came to the mission,” said Michael McIntire, director of the shelter’s ministry. “He shared his story with me, about how his parents had left him their home and the guilt he felt at squandering everything they had left him.”

Shiroma entered the addiction recovery program and worked with McIntire and the shelter’s director, the Rev. Andy Bales, to overcome his addiction and sense of guilt.

“The photo of him in cap and gown on the day he graduated from the recovery program is right outside my door,” said Bales. “He was able to put the past behind him and move forward with a healthy self-esteem. He learned to not let his past beat him down.”

After Shiroma completed the recovery program, the mission hired him as a custodian. He also worked as a driver, shuttling residents around Los Angeles and collecting food donations.

He lived at Union Rescue Mission until his death and managed to save more than $30,000, which will be donated to the mission in his memory.

On his way back from Hawaii, Shiroma picked up souvenirs and macadamia nuts as a gift for McIntire, along with a renewed sense of pride and confidence.

“He was a new man when he came back from that trip,” said McIntire. “He was happier and more connected than ever before.”