George

Holding On

George had been working as a roughneck for more than 20 years. Toiling on offshore oil rigs is hard and dangerous work, but George has always liked hard work and it kept his home comfortable and food on the table. When Hurricane Ike hit in September 2008 it destroyed everything in its path, including George’s job. The oil company where he was employed was forced to lay off George. His boss acknowledged that George was a good employee and promised to find him another job somewhere. The company told George that there would be a place for him working on a land rig, if he could just hold on for a while. He looked for other work but with the economic crunch, jobs were scarce. He knew if he could just hold on for a few months, he would be working again on the land rig.

The job didn’t materialize and the next thing he knew, George was packing his house. He wasn’t sure where he was going; all he had left was his car. So, with a few belongings, George just got in and drove. He stayed in that car for almost six weeks. This man who was once a powerful and proud veteran of the oil industry was reduced to this life. He felt ashamed, but moreover he was scared. George had never lived on the street before. He had no idea what to expect.

He continued to look for work and held on as long as he could. That’s when he finally heard about SEARCH. He had waited in line to see case manager Jasque Taylor. When he sat down and started working through his options with Jasque, George confessed, “I’ve heard people say homelessness is a paycheck away, but I really never thought this could happen to me.” Jasque connected George with housing. Within a few weeks, the company that he’d been loyal to for all those years finally came through. He got the long-awaited job on the land rig and got back to his former life.

SEARCH was there for George in his hour of need. As he felt himself going over the edge, SEARCH helped bridge the gap between his old life and a new one that was waiting for him right around the corner. Not all of us experience that hour of need the same way, but without family or community support, we are all capable of reaching that point. SEARCH acts as the bridge, the net, that most of us take for granted.