Homeless veteran living under a bridge lost custody of 2-year-old — until the ‘Tiny Blue’ program changed everything
Just one source of help in times of need can be life-changing for a person. A dad found that in a tiny blue home that helped him reunite with his two-year-old daughter. The girl had been put into the foster care system because the family didn't have a house. The man, Tim, a U.S. Navy veteran, had overcome substance abuse and had been in sustained recovery at that time for two years at the Missouri residential treatment program. However, his living conditions were not considered fit for a child and the custody battle to get his daughter out of the system had become hard for the dad. That's when a non-profit organization stepped in, per Good News Network.
"I just remember thinking: 'How can I rescue my daughter?'" Tim remarked. His living conditions didn't meet the family court's requirements. But then a program manager at the rehab where Tim was living became aware of his situation with his daughter, Majesty. Luckily, he also knew about a non-profit village called VCP, Veterans Community Project. The village had a tiny blue home available that Tim and Majesty could move into. It had been designed to house couples and to ensure that veterans could get housing and parental rights to their children. It was the perfect solution for the dad. So, Tim moved there in just a few days with the help of the program manager.
The house situated in a larger family unit was deemed fit for a child and the man could regain full custody of his daughter after that. "Majesty loved the place. She would run around dressed like Princess Elsa. Everyone there doted on her." The father-daughter lived in the facility for a year and a half. In that duration, Tim managed to become a licensed drug counselor. It was a big moment for him after his own recovery. The man had been in the Navy for three and a half years before the early 2000s. However, the transition from being in the military to civilian life was not an easy one for him. He started struggling with substance use problems, according to the outlet.
His life was really hard for around 20 years after that. "I was lost. I lived under bridges. Slept in abandoned cars. It's hard to explain how exhausting it is to just survive." Things changed for the man at some point. "The opposite of addiction is connection—and that's what I found." His life changed during one Christmas at the rehab centre when people prayed with him. Once he was in recovery, the man started working to become a drug counselor. His past experiences proved to be useful in dealing with clients as well. The man was sitting in the box next to a judge on his first day as a drug counselor and it was a huge moment for him.
"I never thought I'd be on that other side, you know, considering who I used to be." The man had been a drug counselor for quite a few years now and Majesty had turned seven. So he had a beautiful experience where he got to meet his past clients. "I don’t think I realized how many lives I'd affected until I'd walked into that room to 40 or 50 people grinning and yelling 'Tim!'" Apart from his professional life, Tim loved the fact that he got to have his daughter around. "She's bright, she's loving, she's got a wonderful imagination." The dad was very thankful to the village that allowed him to have his daughter in his life. "I'm just so very thankful to have Majesty in my life."