Ronald’s Story

Born, raised, and established in San Francisco, Ronald always pictured living out his years in the comfort of his house, supported by his work in trucking and booking convention shows.

But in 2003, a tragic work accident left him permanently disabled. His neck was severely injured, third and fifth vertebrae crushed, and his hip broken. Ronald gradually regained mobility, but the emotional and psychological impacts remained. He stopped working, left his home, and fell deep into drinking.

Ronald started traveling to Reno, staying night-to-night in hotels, drinking, and partying. The days became a blur—"that's the point I can't remember," Ronald admits. "I didn't have my own place for about four years." He found himself back in the Bay Area, riding the bus around local neighborhoods and catching sleep when he could. His drinking had become intense and debilitating.

Then Ronald met Victoria (Vickie) Asfour, Case Manager at LifeMoves (now Program Director of the Homeless Outreach Team). She introduced herself and gave him her business card.

"I put it in my pocket and left it for five months or so," he admits. "Then one day I decided, I got tired of the way I was living. So, I called [Vickie], and everything started changing."

With Vickie's help, Ronald started Alcoholics Anonymous. He attended meetings, saw Vickie regularly, and made great progress. But his path to healing, improvement, and self-sufficiency was far from easy.

"Vickie knew I was drinking when I stopped showing up and started making excuses. She would just drive around, find me in bad condition and say, 'I think it's detox time.'"

Heavy alcohol intake took its toll on Ronald's body. "I was drinking myself to death. I was drinking holes in my stomach, and I started throwing up blood. [Vickie] found me one day, and she rushed me to the hospital."

"She saved my life. The doctor said that had I been out there for another week, I'd be dead."

After he was released from the hospital, Ronald resolved to get back on track, prioritize his health, and quit drinking. With determination and hard work, Ronald got sober, and saw both his physical and mental health improve. Vickie invited him to events at LifeMoves | Vendome where he reconnected with old friends and befriended the Vendome staff.

"I had a couple of friends that were living in the [Vendome]," Ronald shares. "We're all doing well—that's what's so good about it. We all hung out together on the street, and we all turned our lives around."

Ronald managed to save enough money to afford a place of his own, and, with Vickie's help searching and applying for housing, Ronald finally moved into his own apartment in South San Francisco.

In December 2020, Ronald celebrated his two-year anniversary of being stably housed.