“I thought I might as well trust somebody that’s trying to help me. And my life changed.”

Vinaldo explains that at one point he was in “a very dark area of my life”, where he was homeless with no place to go. Life on the streets had been rough and he was skeptical when he heard about Project Place, but he decided to give it a try.

Vinaldo reflects, “As I started coming, I started to enjoy the place. I stepped up my computer skills, [my] job interview [skills], [and] my resume. [They] all got way better, just by coming here. Every time I put down [Project Place] for a reference, I always get a call back. Every single time.”

Things are looking bright for Vinaldo these days. He now has his own place and pays market rent. He is happy in his new career, working at Reebok. He shares that his vision is to try and help others by passing on what he learned here, because “you can’t make it all by yourself.”