Story of Marlo - Homeless Ex-Con

So I stopped by Starbucks yesterday on my way to work and, with a little time to kill, I took a seat in a quiet corner of the store. I had been staring at my phone for a minute or two when a man pulled up a chair next to me. He looked a little rough around the edges, but had a friendly face. I greeted him, his name was Marlo, and within minutes we were deep in conversation about all sorts of things.

After maybe 30 minutes Marlo told me that he had been in a federal prison for 11 years for a crime that he didn't commit. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I understand, of course, that anyone could say that but I chose to believe him. It wouldn't be unusual in The United States for a poor man of color to go to jail, guilty of a crime or otherwise.

He said that he was over the whole experience and just wanted to get on with his life. But it really isn't that easy. Every single job that he tried to get would turn him down. Background checks were common and upon hearing of his time in prison even the most basic of jobs would shut in his face.

I asked him where he was sleeping and he told me about a nearby apartment building where he slept in the hallways if he was lucky enough not to get caught. If he was unlucky he would sleep under a bridge, in temperatures as low as 20°F.

The whole time he didn't once ask me for anything. I really didn't have much to give but I really wanted to try to help him somehow. When the time came that I had to leave I gave him about $40 and he assured me that he could get some food and a couple nights in a motel with that. But I'm very aware that just throwing money at a problem like that will never make it go away. I wrote my cell number on a piece of paper for him and asked him to contact me in a week or two.

Now I want to do some research to find out how I can best help this man. There seems to be very little in the way of public services to help homeless ex cons, so maybe somebody here knows how this system works? Any information that may help him get back on his feet would be very helpful. I really believe Marlo's life was stolen from him by an unfair system and a society that just wants to forget.

Thanks for reading, and please share this if you can!