Affordable Housing Helps Rebuild Lives

Jack lives in a Volunteers of America affordable living apartment. It’s a small, one-bedroom with a tidy kitchen, a portable boom box emitting low jazz sounds, and has a small station where his computer is set up where he can compose music and work on grant applications for a foundation for which he volunteers. Every day at about 11:30 a.m. his Meals on Wheels volunteer stops in to deliver his hot meal and they chat about the weather or politics. Jack has truly come far since almost losing everything.

Baby Jack came into this world with a severe physical disability and the pediatrician solemnly explained to the new mother that her baby boy would never be “normal.” As he grew up, Jack’s limited motor skills and shaking head and hands kept him from playing with the other children; their rejection led to painful social isolation for Jack.

Despite his physical handicap, his loving parents―one a podiatrist and the other concert pianist always encouraged him to live life to its fullest. Jack remembers a sense of relief when his mother removed him from school and brought him on tour as she performed classical piano pieces around the world. Jack proudly explains, “Was heard on short-wave radio around the world.” It was no wonder that the young man developed a passion for music and the industry surrounding it.

Once the young man earned his high school education and a few college courses, Jack’s love of music, keen intelligence and ambition launched his career as an entertainment manager for dozens of jazz’s greatest performers, including Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Gene Krupa, Glenn Miller, to name a few. His success validated the man once defined as the “jerky kid who can’t even play ball.”

His achievements in business paralleled his fulfilling personal life as he married his wife Betty and together they raised a beloved son. The physical disability was no longer the focus of his life. “We had the perfect house – it’s surreal to remember how lovely it all was,” says Jack. But tragedy visited Jack’s family in 1970 when they lost their son in a deadly car accident. His 20 year marriage soon fell apart and Jack lost hope. His business dried up and he could no longer keep-up with the bills. When his health began to fail, Jack had no other choice but to move into an assisted living facility.

This new living situation was more than Jack could bear. He had a small room that could only hold his single bed, no room for his computer to do the work he loved. The other residents were bothered by his classical and jazz music. The final issue, Jack recalls, was realizing that the residents and visitors would stare at his violently shaking hands during meal time. He was that outcast little boy again, and a bitter tone comes into his voice as he explains, “It was a communal dining situation and I was the attraction du jour.” With this, his perseverance finally waned and he left the facility―eventually becoming homeless.

Hopeless and alone, Jack was preparing to take his own life when it dawned on him that God must certainly have another plan for him. One day at a soup kitchen, a volunteer server gave Jack the address of the local Volunteers of America office and suggested he see what assistance they might provide. Jack had nothing left to lose.

Jack's new Volunteers of America affordable living apartment and the daily meal delivery service he receives allows him to maintain the independent life that he treasures. Jack maintains his sense of privacy and dignity. Without these things, he wouldn’t have the same sense of optimism and can-do attitude. Jack is determined to beat the odds again. “I don’t know where I’d be without Volunteers of America. At this point, I can’t do a whole lot for myself, but that will change.”

Until that day comes, Volunteers of America’s affordable housing and Meals On Wheels programs will be there for him. 

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