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The story of veteran Ellis Martin and how the VOA helped him
Ellis Martin says he is just $3 and a few bad decisions away from becoming homeless again. The Army veteran went from serving our country to living on the streets in Detroit. But thanks to Volunteers of America, he now has an apartment and a renewed sense of how far he's come.
(FOX 2) - Ellis Martin says he is just $3 and a few bad decisions away from becoming homeless again.
The Army veteran went from serving the country to living on the streets in Detroit. But thanks to Volunteers of America, he now has an apartment and a renewed sense of how far he's come.
Local perspective:
At his high-rise apartment in Detroit, FOX 2 took a trip down memory lane with Ellis Martin. He showed us a collection of photos from his time in the Army 40 years ago. Martin said he joined the Army after high school to escape his home life in Detroit.
However, the trauma continued to haunt him after his service ended.
FOX 2's Brandon Hudson spoke with Martin about his experiences.
Brandon: "When you got to the VOA, how much did they become your family?"
Ellis: "It took a while because I wasn’t finished running the streets. What I ended up doing was I got there, and I ran away."
Brandon: "You said you were out there in the streets. Do you feel like you were chasing something?"
Ellis: "A ghost. A dream. A nightmare. I’ve been addicted off and on for 40 years. Being homeless for so long, it got old."
Dig deeper:
Ellis Martin speaks with a sense of gratitude for his support system, which includes friends, his therapist, his job at Ford Field and Little Caesars Arena, and the work of Volunteers of America Michigan.
Especially Jeff Houpt, VOA Michigan’s supervising resident specialist, who helped Martin find this apartment.
"But Jeff never left me. Jeff got me on the phone, and Jeff chewed me out. Told me to get my butt back into it," he said.
Brandon: "How does it feel to call this place your own?"
Ellis: "Every night. When I come back, thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord, because I could easily be out of there. I’m one bad decision and probably three dollars away from being homeless again."
Brandon: "You’ve gone from eating in alleyways to eating in soup kitchens. Now you’re cooking your own spaghetti. How does that feel?"
Ellis: "Oh, that’s nothing. Wait until Thanksgiving. Realistically, as long as I stay the course, everything is going to be alright. Staying the course is what prepares me for when things don’t go well."
To learn more about the Volunteers of America Michigan, you can tap here.
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