“I feel like I’m just starting to begin again.”
That’s how Ivan describes this moment in his life.
A client of Shelters of Saratoga over the past few years, Ivan speaks openly about a past shaped by instability, resilience, and hard-earned perspective. As a teenager, he describes himself as a “quintessential rebel.” Home was never a safe or stable place. Growing up in a broken home marked by constant turmoil, he eventually chose to leave. While still in high school, he began running away to New York City, finding the uncertainty of the streets easier to bear than the life he was leaving behind. Within the homeless community, he found something he had rarely known before—a sense of safety, acceptance, and people who welcomed him with open arms.
“I just wanted to escape,” he says.
And escape he did.
Ivan spent years moving from place to place—riding freight trains, forming connections, falling in love, and eventually becoming a father to two daughters. He built a life rooted in independence and adventure, which eventually led him to a career as a Wilderness Survival Guide for youth. For 15 years, he taught, mentored, and guided others in the outdoors—a role he held with pride.
But life took a turn after a serious injury.
Prescribed Vicodin, Ivan began to notice a shift. “My lectures were better when I was on it,” he recalls. What started as pain management slowly became something else.
“Opioids ruined my life.”
Before that prescription, Ivan had never been exposed to hard drugs. But like so many, his path to addiction began with medication intended to help.
A Pivotal Step to Stability
Ivan first connected with Shelters of Saratoga through the Code Blue winter shelter program. Code Blue is open during the colder months and offers a safe place for guests to sleep, warm meals, and if a person chooses, a path to stability. Ivan appreciated the safety from the cold but had no desire to stay in that place. He decided to take the leap and moved into a more structured program, the year round Emergency Shelter on Walworth Street – a moment he still remembers vividly.
“As soon as I walked in, I felt relief,” he says. “Having a safe place to sleep is essential.”
But it was more than just a bed. It was structure. Community. A place where he could begin again—this time with support.
When asked what he would say to someone currently facing homelessness, Ivan doesn’t hesitate:
“Life is really short. If there’s anything you want to do, you have to do it now. If you’re ever going to get your life together, you might as well start right now. I wish someone had told me that a long time ago.”
He’s equally direct when talking about the stigma surrounding homelessness:
“Everyone is one bad decision—or one bit of bad luck—away from being homeless. And the longer you’re there, the harder it is to get out. Once people find out you’re homeless, they don’t want to help you anymore.”
He pauses, then adds:
“I don’t know anyone who wants to stay on drugs. People just don’t have the resources to help themselves.” Ivan now lives with hepatitis—a reality he says he may not have addressed without access to care through Shelters of Saratoga. “I wouldn’t have gotten treatment if I wasn’t here. If I can keep the positive attitude I’ve learned here,” Ivan says, “I know I can achieve my goals.”
What’s Next for Ivan
Today, Ivan is preparing to move into his own apartment.
With that comes something many of us understand: the fear of loneliness, of starting over, of stepping into the unknown. But it also comes with hope.
He dreams of returning to teaching, of working with youth again, and of one day opening his own wilderness survival program—creating the kind of space that once gave him purpose. Above all, he hopes to reconnect with his youngest daughter and rebuild a relationship with her, while creating a future grounded in purpose, guidance, and hope.
Ivan is beginning again.
And this time, he’s not doing it alone.
This is not the end of our relationship with Ivan. He will continue engagement with us as an enrollee of our Health Home care management program where we will continue the support we provided within our four walls, helping him navigate needed health services, ensuring he has transportation to appointments and continue building the skills he needs to maintain independence.