Photo by Emilio Cortez

Meet the Residents: Kyle’s journey from homelessness to home 

Kyle moved home late last year. When he and his wife opened the door to their apartment at The Cielo, they both broke down crying—not out of sadness, but joy. After eight years without a home, they finally had a place of their own. A door they could lock. A space that felt safe.  

Kyle’s journey to The Cielo began with a life he never imagined losing. He was adopted and had moved to the San Fernando Valley to meet his biological family for the first time. He had a job, bought a house, was the father of two children, and was building relationships with his biological family. Things were good. 

Then his younger brother had an incident at work. “Being the big brother I never got to be growing up, I let my emotions get  the better of me. I didn’t hurt anyone, but I ended up in prison for seven years,” Kyle says. 

When he got out, he had lost everything. His house and his family were gone. He didn’t know who to call or where to start. 

With nowhere to go, Kyle was invited to join an encampment where he was given a tent to sleep in. Compared to a bus bench, a tent felt like protection.   

“Life on the streets is about surviving hour by hour. It’s almost impossible to work a regular job, stay clean and see your kids, and take care of yourself. Drugs are real out there. I used them to cope. But over time, coping turned into addition,” Kyle says. 

After six years in the encampment, Kyle says he was struggling with his mental health and had accepted that he would be on the streets for the rest of his life. Then the LA Family Housing outreach team visited his encampment. At first, Kyle kept his distance. But one outreach worker, Brooke, kept coming back. And soon after, she was able to offer Kyle and his wife temporary housing at one of LA Family Housing’s interim housing sites.  

Over the next two years, Kyle and his wife were offered housing options, but they decided to wait for an apartment in The Cielo, a permanent supportive housing community that opened late last year. 
 
“Looking back now, it was the best decision we ever made,” Kyle says. 
 
Kyle describes the support offered to him at The Cielo as making all of the difference. “I truly believe that without the support part, most of us at The Cielo wouldn’t last—even with housing,” he says. 

His mental health had taken over his life. Through LAFH, he was connected to a psychiatrist who took time to understand him. Within a couple of months, he felts like himself again. 
 
Today, Kyle is working. He’s sober. He’s preparing to finance a car. Most importantly, he’s rebuilding his relationship with his children. 
 
“For the first time in eight years, I feel ready for whatever comes next,” Kyle says. “People who knew me on the streets tell me I’m glowing. I feel it too. And I know I wouldn’t be here—mentally, emotionally, or physically—without the people at LA Family Housing who 
believed in me when I couldn’t believe in myself.”