The Suitcase

It was 5 years ago when we got a call to evaluate a man for our homeless program. He was delightful and seemed eager to meet us. We sat and listened to him tell his story. He came to Michigan 40 years ago from a small town in Alabama, looking for work and bringing along his wife and children. He did find work, but his marriage did not work out, so his family moved back to Alabama. He always hoped that they would be reunited but that did not work out for him. He moved to Port Huron after being laid off and was hard pressed to find a job due to his physical limitations. So, he suddenly found himself homeless with no hope.

The State became involved in helping him. He found himself moving from group home to group home for 30 years. The only memory of his family was in his suitcase. As he continued to be moved to many homes, he always had his suitcase. It was then that he told us that that suitcase was never fully emptied, and it would never be empty until he was home.

In the summer of 2019, he was approved to move into Sanborn Gratiot Memorial Home by way of our homeless program. Sadly, once the program time ended, he had to move to another group home once again. As luck would have it a couple of months later a low-income room became available, and we rushed to find him and give him this wonderful news. After 3 months of living at Sanborn Gratiot Memorial Home, he called us to his room. “What can we do for you”?, we asked. He handed us a torn and tattered empty suitcase, and he said, “please throw it away, I am finally home!”