Nineteen months later homelessness becomes distant memory

Albert Swiger stands in front of a home he recently painted

Sometimes old habits die hard, other times it takes about nineteen months -- just ask Albert Swiger, a formerly homeless man I found in the early stages of the Homeless Initiative "flying" a sign on Hillsborough Ave. It wasn't a chance meeting between Swiger and myself since our deliberate encounter at the time was all part of a very unsophisticated homeless recovery model centered on street engagement.

There were many times during these months that I didn't think Albert was going to make it and become successful; but, these were fleeting moments, and each time Albert rose to the occasion to prove me wrong.

If we had a test kitchen for the Homeless Initiative Albert would have tasted every recipe -- from the early days of the Rapid Rehousing grant to the more recent jobs initiative, he was our poster child of news reports and television coverage lauding the virtues of our every trial and error -- he became our local homeless recovery rock star.

But these are the rosier pictures -- since with success always will you have failure -- more than any other homeless recovery candidate, I'm certain, Albert was the driving impulse for every incendiary curse word I knew and a few I made up. Over the months of his recovery I've threatened to put him in jail, fire him from a job of which I had no authority, and maybe even revoke his green card whether he had one or not.

In each and every one of these times the dust would soon settle and we continued to move forward. It was during these times that Albert was just as much an apprentice as I was a journeymen and stumbling disciplinarian -- but, if the student hasn't learned then the teacher hasn't taught. If he failed then I failed -- and, I wasn't going to fail.

I did learn to give Albert his breathing room in hopes that he would find his niche in a rediscovered life. To Albert's disservice, I didn't have the play-by-play since there was no script back then; but, with every measured stride a formula did reveal itself and future candidates would surely benefit from it.

Albert Swiger becomes a business man --

It's now a crisp Spring afternoon and I pay a visit to Albert's most recent job site -- a contemporary block home situated on a billowing West Chase avenue.


 He greets me at the curb and anxiously awaits to start the tour that will showcases his handy work. Albert has nearly completed the exterior paint job and he affectionately bemoans the homeowners last minute impulse to broaden his work order.

He emphasizes his near flawless forty-five degree miter cut on a fascia board and I can't help but compliment the steady hand of his trim line.  Mildewed roofing shingles now have a fresh look and his opinions offered as a craftsmen are regularly signed-off with high approval from the homeowner.

In his short study as an entrepreneur he has become the West Chase wizard to those that need home improvements -- bouncing from one referral to another he has left a trail of freshly painted homes behind in his wake.

Albert ushers me into the side door of the garage where he points into the door jam -- a brass security hinge stands out as a new replacement. "I recommended they let me install this as a security feature," Albert says. "This is where someone is going to break-in if they want too and the old one was construction grade." I thought Albert already learned the fine art of up-selling -- and I was impressed, until he explained that the installation came for free. "It was just a bonus," he said. "You under promise and over deliver -- that's how you make happy customers." 

I left with a sigh of relief and some reassurance that the cardboard sign he once held on the side of the road is now permanently retired. It's a good feeling, since Albert was the first one into the pipeline and now has become the first one out. I can now move on to help someone else just like I helped him -- and, because of Albert, better equipped to do it. And now, nineteen months later, I am honored to say that I was part of his homeless recovery story.

Keep up your outstanding work Albert  you have made me very proud.

Deputy Steven Donaldson
Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office
Homeless Initiative
District III Office: (813) 247-0330
Email: sdonalds@hcso.tamp.fl.us
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