Born and raised in Newark, NJ, Saul Alford joined the United States Army in 1976, right out of high school at only 17-years-old. He was honorably discharged after serving for three years, which included tours in Germany and here in the United States. After the Army, he came home and worked hard as a painter and maintenance specialist. Most recently, he worked in maintenance for a retirement community.

Saul’s son was born in fall 2012, and had suffered from some medical issues early on. As his son’s sole parent, Saul was forced to miss days at work to care for him. To that end, Saul was let go from his position. He was able to collect unemployment, but the funds were not enough for Saul to keep his apartment. Saul and his son became homeless.

For months including a very harsh winter, Saul put his son in his stroller and walked from place to place trying to find somewhere to live. They spent many nights on the street in South Philly. He also spend many days knocking on the doors of organizations and shelters to see the types of programs he could take advantage of to find a stable home for him and his son—he refused to have his baby go into the system.

Many programs he encountered required a lengthy stay in the shelter, followed by transitional housing for another period of time. Saul wanted a stable place for his son to flourish, so he pressed on and went to the VA hospital to ask for help. The social workers introduced Saul to Mission First Housing Group. One month later, he was moving into a newly refurbished apartment in Center City Philadelphia.

Saul, now 54 years-old, is enjoying having a new place to live and a stable, safe environment for his son. He does have a very important goal for him and his son: own a home.

“Owning a house is everyone’s dream. When that happens, I will be at peace.”

While in the military, Saul injured his back falling off a M35 2½-ton cargo truck (“deuce and a half”). This, coupled with a recurring rash from the shots he received during intake, has pained Saul for over 30 years now. He is currently awaiting a decision on his disability claim with the VA. His request it is in the development stage and next is the interview and physical. Hopefully, Saul will be approved and can work towards getting his dream of a new home. For now, he is very happy to have a place to call home with Mission First Housing Group.

“Mission First is helping people that have helped our country,” Saul said. “There would be no United States, if not for the men and women protecting for our country.”

In the Army, he trained to learn how to carry himself around others, teamwork, and how to help people. These survival skills helped him endure through homelessness. He believes that what you give the world, you get back to you.

“Some people come back from their service and lose their way,” Saul continued. “They see some horrific things that stay with them. Sometimes they find drugs and alcohol, because they do not know what to do. Your network is very important. This organization is part of the solution to give people resources to succeed.”