Marcus* is a writer with a story in progress about a Black Navajo Buffalo Soldier navigating moral conflict and seeking justice on the frontier. He is the kind of man who finds meaning in characters who are determined and purpose-driven, which says a lot about who he is himself.
For years, Marcus managed his Type 2 diabetes through discipline and lifestyle changes, even getting off medication entirely. But when his health began to decline again in his mid-60s, the cost of insulin and mounting medical bills became overwhelming. His life began to unravel. He was not yet old enough for Medicare and could not navigate the Social Security system alone. The weight of it all began affecting his health and his marriage. He needed housing, healthcare, and a way forward. Transitions helped him get back on his feet, and for a time, it worked. He found employment and moved to another city to try to get ahead financially. But the job was not what he expected, and he found himself spending everything he earned on Uber rides nearly 20 miles each way to work, with nothing left over to pay down his debt or cover his growing medical bills. With his health continuing to decline and no stable housing, Marcus found himself with nowhere to turn. He came back to Transitions and started over.
This time, the path forward was built one step at a time. Marcus began in the emergency shelter program, then worked his way into the men’s residential program, and eventually moved into extended housing, a journey that spanned two years. His case managers helped him successfully apply for Social Security and government health benefits, finally giving him access to the insulin and medical care he had gone without for so long. Cooperative Health provided on site primary care and mental health services right where he lived, helping him get his diabetes and blood pressure under control. He attended anger management and life skills class that helped him stay emotionally steady through the hard days. And every week, three different faith communities came to Transitions to offer spiritual support. Marcus showed up for all of them. “It kept me grounded,” he said. “What I was going through, it’ll work out. God will make sure it works out.”
Today, Marcus has his own apartment, his first choice of all the places he applied for. He has held steady employment for nearly two years. And he has picked his novel back up. Most importantly, he told us: “I feel independent again. I have some control over my life, and that is a reward in itself.”
*Name and photo changed to protect privacy.