Meet Derrick Lyons

Years ago, Derrick Lyons was at his lowest. Struggling with being laid off, homelessness, addiction, and strained relationships with his family, Derrick’s mind wandered to dark places.  

“I’ve never really told anybody this except for my therapist. I wanted to kill myself. The doctor said that’s what happens when you’re on the streets for a long time. You’re by yourself, it was hard.” 

Along with this, Derrick found himself in an unbearable cycle of going from shelter to shelter, only to be kicked out, and start over at another. This left walls up in Derrick, along with an uneasy level of distrust with most people claiming to have Derricks best interest at heart. In 2020, Derrick was connected to our Flexible Housing Pool team. Derrick began to feel more and more like himself. “I felt like a real person again. I became more talkative like I was in the past.  I was usually very outgoing. I was doing it again, saying hi to people!” Derrick has been a part of the program for three years now and has grown tremendously in that time. 

To read the rest of Derrick’s story please click on our 2022 annual report below.