A quote from Garrett, our 35th person placed, “Are you guys for real?  No one is that nice.” Garrett had been sleeping in the allies of HB for 6 months after he had given up on life because his girlfriend he was living with broke up with him.  The only belongings he had was a sleeping bag and his phone. He knew he had to use his phone to get some help.  So he did an internet search on “how to survive in HB when you are homeless” and Off the Streets-HB came up.  He was skeptical but called us anyway.  When we explained to him that we would help him determine a rent amount he could afford and once he found that place in that price range, we would  pay his security deposit directly to his landlord he asked us, “are you guys for real?  No one is that nice!” That same day Garrett had his personalized budget and knew exactly how much rent he could afford. Several weeks went by and we didn’t hear back from Garrett. Then the weather started to get cooler and someone stole Garrett’s sleeping bag.  Garrett got serious and found a room to rent under his target price range.  He called to let us know and that same day we had the honor of meeting Garrett in person at his new place to pay his deposit. Garrett wanted to know when would he have to pay back the deposit money to us. We told him he didn’t have to pay it back, it was our gift to him and if he took care of his rental, he would get to keep the money and use it for his next place. “Tell me,” Garrett asked us “what benefit do you get from doing this?  Are you really just doing this out of the kindness of your own heart?”   He was in utter disbelief and thanked us profusely.  Then we asked him what kind of furniture he needed?  His response to this was, “Are you guys for real?  Where is the hidden camera?  You guys are going to give me FURNITURE TOO!”  As we were wrapping things up with Garrett, we turned on the video camera and were able to capture just a glimpse of Garrett’s gratitude.  He couldn’t hold back the tears.

Here’s a video of Garrett’s reaction