About five years ago, Joe accompanied a family member on a journey from his hometown in another state to Austin, Texas. Having had a steady job chopping down trees for a power line company back in his home state, he came to Austin in pursuit of new manual day labor occupations. In this way, he made enough money to pay partial rent for the house he shared with his family member. However, his life drastically changed when this family member received a job offer in Houston, abandoning Joe who now could not afford a home. His only option was to return home, where his older brother would allow him to live in his extra bedroom. But with his income, he could not yet afford the travel expenses. His plan was to be temporarily homeless in hopes of making money to return to his home state as soon as possible.
Up until the summer of this year, Joe had kept up his manual labor. Then, another tragedy struck. On June 12, 2017, Joe was riding his bicycle with a friend down a sidewalk in downtown Austin. As a light transitioned from yellow to red, a speeding car jumped the curb in order to avoid rear-ending the car in front of it who stopped at a yellow light. Joe was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The car hit Joe causing a severe neck injury, shattering his knee, and breaking his leg. According to his friend, Joe’s main concern was the fact that he would not be able to go to work the next day. Little did he know, Joe would never be able to do manual work again and would be temporarily stuck in a wheelchair. Thankfully, it was not a ‘hit and run,’ and Joe is anticipating the settlement of a lawsuit in his favor. He will hopefully be able to use that money to return home to his twin sons and siblings.
Although Joe never went into much detail about his life prior to his move to Texas, he did reveal much about his character, faith, and family through his tale of his trials and perseverance through homelessness. As seen in his passion for manual labor, his desire to heal, and relentless pursuit of returning home to his family, it is evident that Joe is determined and hard-working. This man also exudes humility, patience, and kindness. Needless to say, the dangers of being handicapped and homeless not only takes a tole on you physically, but also mentally; however, Joe does not let this faze him.
He recounted a terrifying incident of a bipolar woman whom he befriended that stole from him. She took his brand new cell phone, his backpack, and many other of Joe’s possessions. This cell phone was his main way of contacting his family members, social worker, and lawyer. His response to the robbery was not one of anger or in a spirit of revenge. He simply said, shaking his head, “Homeless are stealing from the homeless. It really is sad.” Joe is a strong believer in Christ. When asked how he could possibly persevere through the many trials he has faced in the past five years without emotional support, he said, “I have God. Praise the Lord!” Joe was insistent upon the fact that God would settle the lawsuit in his favor and bring him home to his family, where he belongs. He has a remarkable faith that he hopes to share by spreading his story to others.
Reflections on Joe →
Joe in 12/17/2016 →