Community Spotlight
Mission Housing would like to congratulate Valencia Gardens resident, Nancy Iriarte, who is one of the winners for the Symantec Video Contest. Nancy’s video submission came in 2nd place and she was awarded a $1,000 Symantec Scholarship to be used toward her college education. Nancy is currently a college student at San Francisco State University. You can see Nancy’s winning video at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJbiPeeMQ7Q.
Residents Stories: Jimmy Galloway
Jimmy Galloway was born and raised on a farm in North Carolina. Starting at age 7, Jimmy worked the farm with the rest of his family raising pigs, chicken, tobacco and slaughtering animals in the Fall to make it through the freezing winters.
Jimmy’s life changed in 1996 when he watched Pedro, an HIV+ gay man appear on MTV’s Real World. By seeing Pedro advocate for gay rights, Jimmy knew San Francisco was the place for him. He got off the train and asked, “Where is the Castro?” Jimmy found home in San Francisco shelters. He enjoyed the busy lifestyle of walking from shelter to shelter every morning to play the lottery and find out where he would sleep. He also enjoyed volunteering at Glide and serving meals to others. After two and a half years, a social worker introduced him to the idea of permanent supportive housing. At first he hesitated as he loved the freedom he had but eventually he took the advice and applied for housing. Although Jimmy suffers from depression, he says he has finally started “living” in the place he stays. At the Apollo hotel, Jimmy cooks his meals, does his laundry, takes time to relax, volunteers in the programs, pays his bills on time and overall just takes better care of himself. Jimmy is a major volunteer with the food pantry and the garden. These programs give Jimmy the opportunity to help others because as he says,
"It’s all about community."