Carnell Olofin's family was building its life together.
Until it lost the most important piece back in 2015
“My wife was 37 when she passed away,”Olofin says. “She had bone cancer. She was one of a kind. I call her the blessing from heaven.”
The pain didn't stop there, as the 33-year-old also lost his job at the same time.
His family ended up homeless.
“It's like all hell broke loose. I don't have a wife anymore, my kids don't have a mother.”
Unfortunately, Carnell's path to homelessness is not uncommon in our community.
Grandmother Bonita Jackson now has a roof over her head, however, it was just a few months ago when mounting bills and health issues forced her and her grandson to the streets.
“I had no hope, I had none,” she says. “I had no hope on what I was going to do next.”
They are two examples that show how fine the line is.
“Most of the residents in Palm Beach County are that close,” says Palm Beach County Mayor Paulette Burdick. “Just one incident.
Advocates told me securing funding to help the homeless isn't easy.
However, billions in proposed cuts to the Housing and Urban Development budget could make it worse.
“It's people out here dying on the streets because you're cutting, you're taking away,” Olofin says.
Now, with a roof over his head and a new start, he’s choosing to live by words of wisdom from his wife.
“My wife used to say no matter what the problem is or what the situation is, the show must go on. I never want to go back to where I was.”
The homeless coalition of Palm Beach County is holding it’s ‘Mayor’s Ball’ on April 1.
The ball benefits the homeless here in Palm Beach County.
For more info, visit here