St. John Center for Homeless - Louisville, KY - Formerly homeless man’s happy heart soon to be reflected in his smile

Formerly homeless man’s happy heart soon to be reflected in his smile

7.31.2007

Scott Vinson hasn’t had much to smile about for the past seven years. He grew up the oldest child and only son of an abusive alcoholic father.

Add to this his mother’s death in a car accident in which he too was also involved, the passing of his younger sister in 2005, and the fact that he was homeless and living in shelters and on the street since his Mom’s death, and one can understand why depression crept into Scott’s life.

His mother’s passing proved to be a slippery slope for Scott. Soon after selling “everything to pay for Mom’s funeral,” he began drinking, which eventually led to homelessness, which brought him to St. John Center’s door. He says it was one of the best things that ever happened in his life.

His voice wavered and tears welled in Scott’s eyes when asked about St. John Center’s role in the positive changes he’s seen in his life lately. “I’m not the type of person that likes to take charity, but Heidi (director of the Center’s Housing Case Management Program) could see I was struggling and unhappy. There were a lot of things bothering me,” revealed Scott.

“I’ve been going to St. John Center since I became homeless. A lot of the other shelters are just too dangerous. There are fights and people steal from you. St. John Center is safe and clean and they really try to help you,” said Scott. “Just look what they’ve done for me. I have a great apartment and the strongest thing I drink is coffee.”

Scott celebrated his 38th birthday by moving into his own ground floor apartment in the Clifton neighborhood last May. “I absolutely love this place. I get up very early in the morning and my favorite thing to do is take my coffee out on the deck, smoke a cigarette and watch the sunrise,” Scott said. “All my stress just melts away. It is so quiet here that I had to sleep with the TV on at first.”

A gifted artist, Scott is looking for a job that allows him to use his talents painting and doing body work on automobiles. Cars, especially 1930s-1960s American muscle cars, are Scott’s first love and the subject of most of his art. “It takes me about three hours and five cups of coffee to complete a drawing,” admits Scott. “I find solace in my drawing. It is my therapy. It calms me.”

Scott has long suffered from bad teeth, but he is scheduled to get dentures soon. Then the joy in his heart will be reflected in the smile on his face. As a matter of fact, it may be nearly impossible to get Scott to stop smiling.