Amos

Veterans' Services Success

Amos is the 2010 Central Illinois Goodwill Achiever of the Year

If the definition of success is how many times you get back up after being knocked down, then Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP) participant Amos is a true achiever.

The seventh of 12 children, Amos grew up on a plantation in Mississippi. To escape an abusive husband, his mother moved her nine youngest children to a two-bedroom apartment in Peoria. Amos helped his mother pay the bills until he finished high school, then served in the U.S. Army for seven years. After returning home, he worked as a dietary aid at Proctor Hospital until transportation became a problem and he lost his job. Faced with mounting bills, Amos chose what he thought was an easy way to fast money—drugs. But after making a sale to an undercover police officer, he ended up in jail.

Determined to turn his life around, Amos pleaded for leniency and served only six months of what could have been a 45-year sentence. He enrolled at Illinois Central College, got a job at ADM, continued to help his mother, became a father and raised his son as a single parent. After being laid off from his job in 2007, and finding himself with no work and no home, he was referred by a friend to HVRP, which helps homeless veterans re-enter the workforce. With encouragement and assistance from our staff, Amos found a new job and in February was named our Achiever of the Year for his desire, ability and commitment to make a better life for himself and his son—who will be attending Northwest Missouri State University this fall on an academic and football scholarship.

We’re proud of Amos and all the veterans who participate in our programs—programs funded through your generous donations.