Hope for the homeless
By ALEXANDRA BISSONNETTE Special to the Daily Press Alexandra Bissonnette
DOWNTOWN On a short walk through Santa Monica, it is not uncommon to pass a dozen or more homeless people along the way. They become part of the scenery for some, for others they are a dispiriting reminder that this city is not yet the picture of perfection that everyone would like it to be.
Lawrence Baca was one of those homeless people — now he serves as a reminder that there is hope, and there is a way out.
“It wasn’t easy, but it was worth it,” said a neatly dressed, smiling Baca during an interview at his former home, SAMOSHEL.
After years spent in jail and on the streets, Baca now lives in his own apartment in Los Angeles. He works at Vons in Santa Monica and has become involved with the Watts/Century Latino Organization, which is aimed at improving the lives of Watts residents.
“I am happy now because I am being responsible,” Baca said.
Born and raised in South Central Los Angeles, Baca did not have the easiest childhood. He was faced daily with drugs and alcohol, and there was little in the way of recreation outside of those activities.
“There really were no mentors,” Baca said. “No help, no guidance. It was a deprived neighborhood.”
Baca points to his early 20s as the beginning of his downward spiral. He struggled with addiction to heroine, cocaine, and alcohol.
“I would never do sober what I did when using,” Baca said.
His addiction caused Baca to go in and out of jail for much of his life. Although he did marry and has three children, addiction led to divorce, and he was cut off from his two sons and daughter for some time.
At one point, his daughter told him that she expected to find him dead in an alley, which led Baca to contemplate his mortality.
“I want to die with some dignity,” he said. It was one of Baca’s many moments of realization that he was not living the life he desired, but the true turning point came with the passing of his mother.
Baca had always made an effort to keep his mother informed of where he was. Whether in jail or rehab, he would write her letters.
While in rehab, his siblings — who were unaware of his whereabouts — found the letters and managed to contact him to let him know that his mother was in the hospital.
Baca rushed to the hospital to find his mother being kept alive by a machine following open-heart surgery.
There was nothing doctors could do to save her.
As the eldest sibling,Baca was forced to make the heart wrenching decision to let her pass.
“That was a turning point in my life,” Baca said.“I thought,‘I’m either going to fall or stand.’”
It has been less than two years since that moment, and Baca’s life is finally on track.
To get where he is today, Baca took advantage of some of Santa Monica’s programs designed to help homeless individuals get back on their feet.
He became involved with the CLARE Foundation, a drug and alcohol abuse treatment facility in Santa Monica, that accepts individuals regardless of ability to pay.
“The CLARE Foundation is all about cold turkey,”Baca said.“I thought,‘this beats going back to prison, and I don’t want to go back.’”
With that, Baca threw himself into his recovery. He joined Chrysalis, a local nonprofit that specializes in providing job preparedness to the homeless.
His persistence got him a job at a local supermarket where he stocks shelves, bags groceries and helps in the shipping warehouse.
“It’s really the experience that’s going to help me,” Baca said.
While working, Baca lived at SAMOSHEL to save money and just recently, he overcame the biggest barrier that stands before a homeless individual —finding housing.
“Where we hit a brick wall is in the actual search for housing,” said Patricia Bouman, project director of SAMOSHEL. “That’s the one that brings us to a standstill.”
But Lawrence was one of the lucky ones. He commutes to his job in Santa Monica by bus, and spends his time painting murals, canvases, and creating mosaics. His involvement with the Watts/Century Latino Organization even allowed him to be a featured artist in an exhibition.
“Lawrence is really special because he gives back a lot,” said Robert Gurrola, Lawrence’s case worker at SAMOSHEL. “He has also done a lot of other stuff to reach out and reestablish relationships with his family.”
Baca is a grandfather now, and talks to his children more often, although he doesn’t expect much from them, as he understands that they were hurt by his addiction.
“It takes a long time to earn that trust,” Baca said.
Now, Baca is enjoying life in his apartment, earning a living and focusing on things that matter to him, like his art.
He also managed to save enough money for a computer, and he is experiencing “a whole new adventure with the Internet.”
“I couldn’t have done it without the help of other people,” Baca said.“Now, I seek help when I’m in need and I share help when I know others are in need.”
Baca’s desire to help others — even if it is the service he provides at work — stems from his experiences on the streets.
“I think that people are afraid,” Baca said of those who avoided him when he was homeless. “They look at those people as a disease, as a nuisance — and it does become a nuisance — but if we start blaming each other, we never find solutions.”
Leaving his homeless days behind, Baca wants to become a part of that solution.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 18, 2008. Read the original PDF.