Reggie's Story

We’re celebrating today with Reggie, who was housed last week after experiencing homelessness off and on since 2016! We celebrate BIG when our guests become housed because we know that housing stability is the foundation that leads to all sorts of avenues of stability including employment, mental health, safety, and HOPE.

As a young and promising athlete, Reggie never believed that he would one day be homeless. Playing college football for UCLA, Reggie remembers being on the field during a game when he collapsed. He was checked out and went back into the game, but later collapsed again, leading to an investigation into his health that later resulted in a diagnosis of Multiple-Sclerosis (MS). Reggie was devastated that he would not be able to pursue his dream of playing college football, but his Grandmother encouraged him to stay in college. He did just that and even went on to work in Alaska in a pharmaceutical lab.

Several years down the road, Reggie’s health continued to decline, so he moved to Omaha to be closer to family. As his physical needs increased, he was no longer able to pay his bills. Nearly 10 years ago, Reggie first showed up at the New Visions Emergency Shelter, and he’s been struggling with homelessness ever since. Over this time, Reggie worked hard with his caseworkers, Nicole and Destyni, to better himself and achieve all of the necessary steps to attain his own housing.

MS has now put Reggie in a wheelchair, but he doesn’t let that define him. Reggie works a job at the Shelter and helps out wherever he can, and he has even spent time as a youth advocate speaking at schools. We’re humbled to be a part of Reggie’s journey, and we’ll be cheering him on in whatever’s next for him now that he has achieved housing.