Paul France, nicknamed "Cowboy," who has numerous medical
problems, has posted a photo of his deceased wife and family in
his new SSVF housing, with his mattress occupying his living room
"It happened quickly, my wife of nine years died in her house in 2010, and her family moved in and threw me out," said Paul "Cowboy" France.
Seventy-year-old France, a US Army Veteran and recovering alcoholic of 15 years, said those who removed him continues to have significant drug problems.
"I've slept in cars, tents and old buildings, until Southwestern- found me a place and bought me a mattress," he said. "I was at the bottom of the barrel. It was a wonderful thing to put my head on a pillow."
The agency often provides the initial rent, deposits and a bed, and networks with other agencies to provide services and find employment.
France said, "Most people take it for granted when they have a bed and pillow to sleep on"
"I felt worthless as a homeless person," he said, "but I held on to a grasp for life," said France, who worked 25 years as a truck driver.
France, who suffers from arthritis and diabetes, relied on local food pantries and "soup kitchens" while surviving one-day-at-a-time. He is currently assisting in keeping clean the complex in which he lives.
He came from a family of ten, saying his own children are now struggling with many problems.
"I now have a place I can call home," France concluded.
The Supportive Services for Veteran's Families (SSVF) program in Huntington, which also serves several West Virginia counties, is designed to lift very low-income veteran families out of homelessness and into stable permanent housing.
Through this program Southwestern Community Action and their SSVF program provides comprehensive assistance in the areas of case management, outreach, temporary financial assistance, and referrals to help in obtaining VA benefits.
SSVF can be reached at 304-525-5151 and website www.scacwv.org.
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