TULSA, Okla. — Grayson Botts found himself homeless at just 17 years old.
A fight with his parents made him feel like his only option was leaving home. That decision was the catalyst of a two-year struggle on the streets.
“It’s actually terrifying, it’s absolutely terrifying," said Grayson. “Just going out there in the world when it’s a horrible, awful place, especially with the drugs and the alcohol… it’s just messed me up.”
Grayson told 2 News's Stef Manchen he had minimal struggles before leaving home. Afterward, he struggled with substance abuse, depression, and anxiety.
He bounced around friends' couches, which is how he got from Cushing to Tulsa.
In the last few months, Grayson found John 3:16 Mission, which connected him to Youth Services of Tulsa, who eventually got him in touch with the Tulsa Day Center.
“I felt like that’s also a calling from God for me to go there and help me," he said. "I had been praying a lot for me to have some help.”
His circumstances helped him match with the Day Center's Rapid Rehousing program, which got him on the path to stability.
Now, at 19, a brand new chapter unlocked for Grayson after he got the keys to his first apartment all to himself.
"I feel like I’ve accomplished something, and I’m pretty proud of myself," said Grayson.
People like Michelle Pearson, Director of Rapid Rehousing, help grant a change of fate to those experiencing homelessness.
“The whole goal of the program is for them to attain self-sufficiency within two years," said Pearson. "We're not only putting these individuals in apartments and just leaving them there, we're providing intensive case management as well."
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It's basic life skills, like budgeting, cooking and cleaning, that the case workers within the program focus on with the newly housed individuals.
It's important, Pearson said, that clients like Grayson don't just get into housing, but stay there.
“Because I get to see the growth in individuals, when somebody won’t give them the chance, or maybe, they need 5 or 6 chances, the Day Center is there to give them those 5 or 6 chances so they can succeed.”
The Day Center's program has proven to be successful in that mission too, with a retention rate of 87%.
"Which is above the national average," she said. "Anybody that was housed two years ago or more in our program, that means they're still housed, so that right there in the numbers tells me that it works."
As for Grayson, he's taking it day by day, appreciating every moment of his new life. Now in a safe place where he can begin again, the 19 year old is gearing up to start a new job to help get him on his way to achieving more of his goals.
"There's a lot of blessings in this world," said Grayson.
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