An unexpected path

depth look at the issue of homelessness in Berks County.

At the time of the series, Joe was nearing the end of almost two years living at Opportunity House, a homeless shelter on North Second Street. He was out of work, caring for his mentally disabled sister and unsure of his next steps.

While Joe remained hopeful — he constantly has big plans in mind, from writing his book to becoming a motivational speaker — his future was, to say the least, uncertain.

Nearly two years later, Joe said he’s getting by just fine.

“I’m doing great. I really am,” he said. “I’m basically just living and enjoying life. It’s nothing extraordinary, but that’s all right. That’s more than all right.”

For the first six decades of his life, Joe didn’t know what it was like to be homeless.

He had always had a place to stay, was always able to find work. The thought of ending up in a homeless shelter never crossed his mind.

But a series of twists and turns led him down that unexpected path.

In 2010 he moved back to Reading from Maryland, where he had been beckoned by his father, who was in need of heart surgery. Joe’s dad asked that he watch over his mother and sister.

Joe’s father ended up passing away in October 2011. And in 2013 he was forced to put his mother in a nursing home because of her worsening dementia. She died in 2015.

Work had been sparse for Joe since his return to Reading, and the cost of his mother’s nursing home tapped him out pretty thoroughly.

The family house was sold, but a legal battle that followed meant the meager proceeds he cleared didn’t stretch very far.

Joe and his sister, Lisa, eventually ended up moving into a motel near Kutztown. But in 2017 Joe lost a job he had taken to foot the bill, and he and Lisa were forced to move into his car.

But without any money coming in, Joe wasn’t able to keep his vehicle insurance or registration up to date. He was eventually pulled over by police. Living in the car was no longer an option.

Joe and Lisa ended up finding their way to Opportunity House.

Feeling he had let down his family, that he had failed in fulfilling his father’s dying plea, Joe was despondent. The first night in the shelter he sat in a corner and cried.

But as the days and weeks went on, Joe’s effervescence returned. He grew comfortable at Opportunity House, became reliant on its rules and structure.

“At Opportunity House I had purpose,” he said. “I volunteered for everything, and I enjoyed it.”

Out on his own

Life at Opportunity House couldn’t last forever.

The story profiling Joe was published in the Reading Eagle on Feb. 26, 2019, a Tuesday. Two days later, on Thursday, Joe left Opportunity House.

He had already stayed there much longer than is normally allowed. But he was a model resident, almost never breaking any rules and always eager to