Like finishing a 10K, life can sometimes be difficult, challenging and present obstacles. It can be easy to hit the snooze button and not train in the morning – or to focus on the hardships and to simply give up on life. Carpenter’s Shelter is a place that doesn’t allow people to give up. It provides people a space to ask for help and learn important skills they can put to use over time. Here, people find that if you keep going and put one foot in front of the other, things will turn out for the best.
Mr. Farmer was a professional boxer before coming to Carpenter’s Shelter. He had a promising career, but left all of that behind when his mother became ill and was diagnosed with cancer. After her passing, Mr. Farmer found himself with nowhere to go. He explained that it was a challenge for him to overcome previous debt and find an affordable place to call home.
Mr. Farmer arrived at Carpenter’s as a walk-in client and lived at the shelter for the next four months. During that time he began saving money and learning to budget, taking Life Skill classes provided by the shelter, and learning to become more responsible.
Today, Mr. Farmer lives in DC and works as a residential counselor for mental health patients. He has also become a faithful participant in Carpenter’s annual Run for Shelter 10k/5k. This year, he will return on November 22nd for his third race. Last year, his time was 23 minutes, 55 seconds. This year, he hopes to finish in 20 minutes and plans to start running every day in preparation for the race.
As Mr. Farmer says, when it comes times for the race in November, I’ll be ready. Sign up today and Join Mr. Farmer on November 22nd to end the cycle of homelessness.