A coffee cup. An ordinary, everyday item we take for granted. But in this moment, to Plymouth Housing case manager Jaclyn, it had special significance. She had just finished opening a package from a resident which contained a coffee cup she lent him.

“Isn’t this sweet?” Jaclyn said. “He gave me back my coffee cup with a note.”

A typical desk note, it had a flower scrawled across it. It read:

The Queen’s Cup. Thank you for the interview and the two cups of delicious coffee. 

– Harold

This is one of the things that makes Plymouth resident Harold stand out; his ability to show kindness in what some would consider the mundane.

“Harold is a well-respected resident,” Jaclyn said. “He gives other tenants advice and helps them when he can.”

Hailing from Memphis, TN, Harold came to the Northwest in 1971 as a U.S. Navy sailor.

“After I got out the Navy, I worked in life insurance,” he said. “My focus was making money and having fun.”

Harold says he was having too much fun, which led to him getting involved with the wrong crowd. Even though he was enjoying himself, he felt things got out of hand. He began using drugs and no longer taking care of himself in the way he wanted to.

“I wasn’t eating properly and started losing weight,” he said.

Harold’s life took a turn for the worse. After couch surfing for a while, he became homeless and ended up on the streets.

“I would ask myself ‘How long would this go on?’” he said. ‘I kept thinking, ‘I shouldn’t be here.’

During his first few nights on the streets, Harold slept in a bus stall. Later, he met an outreach worker who told him about the Breath of Life Mission. It was then he learned he could stay in a shelter.

“They were able to help me,” he said.

After a series of stays at temporary shelters, Harold learned about Plymouth Housing from a case worker.

“They told me about Plymouth and I applied,” he said. “And I got in.”

Since 2014, Harold has been a resident at Plymouth Housing. He says having permanent supportive housing has been life changing.

“I have my own apartment and privacy,” he said. “Now that I’m not on drugs, I can focus.”

Along with having his own home, Harold says it’s the sense of community that makes his building an inviting place.

“I like how the staff will smile at you and set the rules,” he said. “I can approach them about any subject.”

Harold’s case manager Jaclyn says he’s a role model to other residents. “He’s such a kind and easy-going person,” she said. “He’s an inspiration to other tenants who are in recovery.”

It’s been years since Harold has been homeless, but he wants people to change how they view those without a home. When he was homeless, he never thought it would happen to him.

“I wasn’t raised under a bridge,” he said. “I had a family and a bed to sleep in.”

Harold says people experiencing homelessness should reach out for help. But he adds that they can’t do it alone.

“This thing called ‘community,’ it takes work,” he said. “We all have to work towards a common goal.”