Humans of GLISS Blog

Today we bring you the story of Jose. 

Since Jose was young he didn’t receive a lot of help or guidance. He was taking care of himself completely by a young age and having to teach himself how to be a functioning human in society without any guidance. 

When Jose was young he would sell sticks of gum for money and sing at restaurants just to afford his school supplies. One day Jose found himself getting wrapped up in the slippery slope of addiction. Every day after that was a fight to just survive. 

After one too many days of coming up short, Jose made the choice to get clean and sober. Finding work while fighting for your sobriety was a struggle. 

He gave a few agencies a try but again came up short. He would question himself. “Do I not look the part of a good employee?”, “have my past mistakes ruined my chances at a good life?”

Jose heard the phrase “we dont have anything for you” one too many times and he started to lose hope for a brighter future. He felt he wasn’t even given a chance to try the job & decide for himself. The feeling of hopelessness was quickly overcoming him. 

Luckily we met Jose and noticed from the first moment that he was dedicated and willing. He truly proved himself and we are so thankful he gave another staffing agency a chance. 

We asked Jose what kept him going through those times of struggle and he said:

“All I can say is drugs are not ever good, keeping out of trouble is best, of course. Staying busy & working to prosper in life is the best decision you could take to keep a healthy & good life. Don’t ever lose hope over any situation. I never was helped by my family but I’ve always helped others despite my upbringing. Keeping my faith high & never losing hope always gave me strength to move forward in life.”