Bernardo Arelano is a fisherman from Oaxaca; his boat was destroyed in 2005 in Hurricane Stan. Some friends invited him to come up and work with them in San Francisco to make enough money to buy a new boat; he agreed, and set out north.
He walked for two days through the
streets of Los Angeles to get to the train station, sleeping
outside, avoiding the drug dealers and others as best he could. When
he reached San Francisco, his friends had gone, leaving no contact
information. Bernardo was in a strange city, nearly broke, completely
alone. He slept for two days under a bridge, until some passerby told
him about Dolores Street Community Services.
"It’s very nice here," he says with a smile. He rubs his hands while he
talks; they are covered in paint and tile dust after a day of hard
work. "Everyone is friendly, and it’s safe. It is like having a
family." The men at the shelter are all in the same situation, and
everyone helps each other out.
It took two months for Bernardo to find steady work, and he spent much
of his time meeting people, walking around, making contacts to see what
was available.
"It was hard," he says. "I was glad to have a place to go where I had friends in the same situation." Eventually, he met a local woman who
buys and remodels fixer-upper houses around the city, and she hired
Bernardo for a remodeling job in the Outer Mission.
After working for two months, Bernardo saved enough for a down payment
on a new fishing boat. With one week to go at Dolores Street, he found an apartment in the city to rent with a friend; his own
place. The local woman will continue to hire him for remodeling jobs,
and he has also volunteered to help with maintenance projects at the
Dolores Street offices.
On his days off, Bernardo goes to the beach to watch the water. Eventually, with the help of Dolores Street Community Services, he will
get back to the fishing he loves.
|
