Daryl Jerome Walker had changes that impacted his life path back in 2017. A victim of a traumatic assault while he was serving in the army, Walker’s PTSD became so serious that the decorated soldier was discharged early.
A Door Opens
Overwhelmed, Walker was fortunate to learn from a military buddy about a PTSD treatment program for vets in Arkansas. With nothing to lose and everything to gain, Walker headed east to Little Rock’s Eugene J. Towbin Healthcare Center. The Center, located on the site of the former Fort Logan H. Roots Military Base, provides long-term, rehabilitative care for eligible veterans.
“My original plan was to take a beat to get my mind right and then go back to California,” Walker recalled. “In the midst of getting my mind right, I decided that wouldn’t be good for my mental health to go back to my working environment. That happened in the last two weeks of the 60-day program.”
The decision created a new problem for Walker when he left the program. He was now homeless in a strange city. Again, fate stepped in and led him to Saint Francis House, a social outreach of the state’s Episcopal Church. The House works to restore lives and care for the community of homeless individuals and families by providing temporary living quarters, a community food pantry, and help with securing household necessities. It also offers temporary housing and assistance to homeless veterans and their families.
“The vets that come here are not all coming here off the streets,” Walker explained. “Like me, they are placed through the VA’s treatment center which runs the Saint Francis program.”
Once in the program, homeless vets are helped to work on life skills, earn money from work they pick up, secure permanent rental housing, and receive critical counseling for PTSD, substance abuse, and other mental health issues that are keeping them from returning to life as they knew it.
Fate Steps In
Walker lived at Saint Francis House for 5 months while he pulled his life together. Then in November of 2019, he was able to move into his own subsidized apartment.
“Next I had to find a job – actually, the job found me,” Walker said. “I could have worked at the VA in Arkansas since I had that training, but something told me that wasn’t what I should be doing.”
Again, the fates, or a higher power if you believe, worked in Walker’s favor.
“A weekend position opened at Saint Francis church for night desk clerk on Saturday and Sunday,” he shared. “I took it. That’s how I also started cleaning the chapel on Sunday morning just to make it look a little nicer for the parishioners.”
Little by little, Walker began to pick up more hours and was regularly asked to help at the church in other ways.
Said Walker, “They tell me the offers to take on more jobs came because of how I carried myself. I suppose it showed that I was a focused, responsible guy.”
Lifting Himself Up
Today, Walker works five nights a week from 11pm – 8am at Saint Francis church. It’s a topsy-turvy life working nights, but he has accommodated well.
“I learned very quickly that I can’t come home and go straight to sleep,” he said. “If I go to sleep too quickly, I wake up too early. So, I do my devotionals, I read, I run, I work out, and take care of all my communications during that time.”
Walker said he also loves to sing, and he writes down his thoughts every day.
“My pastor at my church in Charlotte, North Carolina was the one who recommended journaling,” Walker said of the beloved parish he visits every chance he gets. “Sometimes it’s not always in a journal though. Stuff that needs to be written down can happen anytime…so I have a collection of sticky notes, napkins, etc.”
“I have dyslexia,” admitted Walker,” so traditional learning has never been easy for me. I’ve never been able to grasp knowledge as others do. I’ve also felt stupid which has stopped me from pursuing higher education. Journaling helps me connect the dots. It’s more than therapeutic, it helps me stay afloat. by re-interpreting what I hear, I can compensate – and help overcome my dyslexia.”
Opportunity Comes Knocking Again
Providence came to Walker again a couple of months ago. He was awakened from his daytime sleep by Carol Chastine, from Saint Francis House.
“When I see it’s from Saint Francis, I always answer,” said Walker. “Carol told me she knew some people at First Service Bank wanted to do something good by helping a veteran.”
Walker was understandably shocked.
“Things like this don’t happen to me,” he said. “I have to fight and work for everything in my life. I wasn’t comprehending the full scope of what she was saying. When I got to work that night, there was a large packet on my desk, and I realized it was from Habitat. This wasn’t a dream.”
The period since Walker first found out he was a candidate for a Habitat home has been packed with to-dos. Every potential new homeowner is required to fill out a substantial amount of paperwork to qualify.
“It took a long time to fill out the packet not because it was so thick, I was just in disbelief,” Walker shared. “I prayed a lot that I could really do this. I had to pray myself into completing the packet. I didn’t tell anyone at the time, and it was the best decision for me. I guess I didn’t want to add anyone else’s disbelief in me to my own.”
Then Walker learned about the new homeowner class he would need to take.
“I was given a link to a new homeowner class that starts on August 7th,” he said, adding, “There are still uncertainties for me. I don’t want to fail. I’m scared to let people down and I’ve done it before. I had my chance in California and I did well for a while, but then ‘I’ got in the way. The fear is there.”
While no official date has been set to begin the build, the ground will likely be broken close to the end of 2021, weather permitting. As Walker noted, Habitat never expected First Service Bank to raise the $80,000 quite as swiftly as they did!
The lot where the house will be built at 4300 11th Street in Little Rock isn’t too far from Saint Francis, so Walker has visited it already.
Walker, as do all Habitat homeowners, will be expected to put in 400 hours of “sweat equity” toward the project. It could be anything from actual construction work to putting together supply lists and pricing estimates. While Walker does have plenty of experience working construction, his night job may prevent him from spending too much time with a hammer and saw.
“I will be juggling my night job and the build, of course, but I’ll dedicate my days off to helping out,” Walker promised. “I know there are a lot of hours I will need to dedicate. There are many ways to work off the hours, not necessarily with a hammer in your hands. They’ll need help with pricing materials, supply runs, ordering, etc. But I hope to do a little building as well. I worked construction before the army. I enjoy when you can step back and ‘say I did that.’”
It’s All Mine
Walker said he’s most excited about something many people take for granted when they build a new home – picking out the little things.
At some point, after he moves into his new home, Walker would love to change to a day shift and “get back into a daytime society,” perhaps get married and adopt children. But for now, he says, the night work is where he’s needed.
Musing about that momentous day when he’s handed the key to his very own home and steps across the threshold, Walker took a deep breath and thought for a moment.
“Of course, it’s the dream. It’s the epitome of the American dream,” said Walker. “I’ll be the first one in my family to own a home. To me that is huge. Somebody gave me the opportunity to break the family curse.”
In a voice breaking with emotion, Walker added one more thought, “The new home will mean security for the first time in a long time. It will be mine.”
For more information about Saint Francis House, click here.
For more information about Habitat for Humanity of Central Arkansas, click here.
For more information about becoming a Habitat homeowner, click here.
For more information about First Service Bank, click here.
For more information about Operation Red, White, & Brave, click here
