We can combat homelessness in Sarasota – and Nick is proof
By Guest Columnist Megan Howell, founder and executive director of Second Heart Homes
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Nick is from Sarasota. But he did not grow up in paradise.
Nick spent part of his youth in foster homes – 19 of them – before being adopted. In adoption, he suffered abuse and neglect. Nick became tired of the nightmare but he had nowhere to turn except to the streets, where the symptoms of his schizophrenia intensified and he became homeless for almost 10 years.
Instead of receiving the professional help he needed, Nick self-medicated. He resorted to the nonviolent, petty crimes that are often associated with homelessness.