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Perry Myrick's
Story
Among all of our graduates, Perry's story stands out as a beacon of hope for all who are join our team. Not only has Perry overcome serious obstacles to return to self-sufficiency, but he continues to give back to the community, maintains and attitude of gratitude and is an example to us all.
 I had a good
life. I was living in San Jose, working for an electronics
company delivering parts to corporations in the Bay Area. I
had a nice car and a nice apartment. When I relapsed into substance abuse, I lost my job, apartment, and car in six months. I had no support from my family because they also suffered from substance abuse. In June 2005, everything was fine, but by December, I was on the streets, going from shelter to shelter. I said to myself, "there has to be a better way to live than this."Then I ran into a fellow veteran on the streets who told me, "You know what you have to do." On December 19, 2005, I checked myself into a 37-day VA treatment plan. At the end of the program, the VA offered me a housing slot in a long-term treatment plan, but I said no. I moved into the InnVision CMA Shelter and started looking for a way to get back on my feet and something worthwhile to do with my time. At the shelter, I noticed a few residents with the yellow DST t-shirts and asked, "What does this yellow shirt represent?" The DST team members told me about the program and I called the number they gave meand got an interview. After 2-3 weeks on the waiting list, faithfully attending the weekly Success Team meetings, I joined the team. It wasn't easy at first; I didn't like to be told where to sweep and ended up getting a strike for not following directions, then another strike for being late to a meeting. After three strikes, you have to leave the team for two weeks to think about whether you really want to participate in the program. After the two weeks, you can enter the program again, but at the bottom of the waiting list. After a conference with my supervisor, Terry, and DST President, Eileen Richardson, I realized that I was going to have to adjust my attitude if I didn't want to go to the bottom of the waiting list, so I swallowed my pride, picked up a broom and started sweeping. Working for DST helped me to rebuild my self-esteem and the Success Team meetings helped prepare me for my job search. They created a real good resume, and grilled me in mock interviews; those interviews were much harder than the real thing!. They also trained us on how to answer questions related to incarceration. My first interview went very smoothly, but I didn't get the job. This was depressing; "I'll never get a job again," I thought to myself. But the DST team helped me figure out what had gone wrong and work to fix the problems and build my confidence. While downtown sweeping the street, I got a call from the Next Step Center about a job that was an excellent fit for me with the VA EDD so I faxed my resume to San Francisco. Then I got a call, the guy said, "I'm sorry Mr. Myrick, we just hired someone for that position. You are exactly what we're looking for, but I've got to give the other gentleman a chance." I didn't get mad or anything; I thanked him for his time and said to let me know if the other guy didn't work out.
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