Veteran Devoted to Giving His Son a Better Life
Curtis’s great grandfather was his hero. Joseph helped raised Curtis, and used to tell him stories of World War 2. Joseph was a tanker, who fought in one of the most important battles of the war, the Battle of Berlin.
Curtis joined the Army himself in 2004 and served as a cavalry scout. He trained at Fort Knox, the same base his great grandfather had 60 years earlier.
After leaving the Army, Curtis’s personal life and career had both success and tragedies. He started his own moving company that did quite well for a few years. When Curtis’s mom tragically committed suicide, he moved to Hawaii attempting to find peace.
Curtis would eventually return to New England. The most pivotal moment of his life occurred in 2017 when he unexpectantly learned he was a father to an infant boy whose mother gave up custody. Curtis immediately embraced his role as a father. “He was a miracle sent to me,” Curtis reflects. But, Curtis knew nothing about raising a baby, so he watched YouTube videos to learn how to do things like change a diaper or feed with a bottle
He named his son Kai Joseph after his great grandfather. In fact, the two share a birthdate.
In order to make ends meet Curtis and Kai shared an apartment with a friend of Curtis. One day Curtis came home to find his roommate dead from a drug overdose. Unable to stay there anymore, Curtis and Kai struggled to find a place to live. Curtis got a camper for them to stay in, but with winter approaching, he knew that wasn’t a safe option for Kai. Reluctantly, he sought help and got connected with our Veterans FIRST program. Staff helped to get Curtis and Kai into temporary, but stable housing for the winter, until a permanent solution was found.
Meanwhile, Curtis also worked with our employment support team on securing a reliable job. Together they fixed up his resume and Curtis landed a good job for a moving company.
Today, Curtis and Kai have their own apartment. Curtis loves his job and remains devoted to his son. “I’m giving him a better life than I had.” Curtis has also started his own moving service to help bring in additional funds, and hopes to build it moving forward.