Dominick P. was truly down on his luck when he was seen by The Bridge Fund of Westchester: he was unemployed, living in his car, and subsisting on food stamps. In other words, he was one of Westchester’s homeless. But Dom was not giving up.
 
Forty-eight years old and single, Dom is a college-educated chef who served in the Army, then worked as a chef for 15 years. In 2000, Dom used his skills to build cabinetry for a kitchen design business. Not satisfied with this work, Dom, a recovering alcoholic, wanted to become a counselor to help others. He got his credentials and a job at Stony Lodge in Ossining. He was laid off in the summer of 2008 and was ineligible for benefits.

And then he was evicted in August 2008 for nonpayment of rent.“For the next four months, I slept in my car while searching for help. Finally the Veteran’s Administration got me into a special Section 8 program for veterans. I got the voucher and was told I had to find an apartment and come up with the security deposit myself.”
Increasingly desperate, Dom sought advice from a friend who mentioned The Bridge Fund. “The Bridge Fund gave me a grant for half the security deposit and helped me get the rest from a program in my community,” Dom said.

“The Bridge Fund re- stored my faith in humanity,” he said.

Now receiving a small disability payment from the Army of $200 a month  and $175 in food stamps, Dom is seeking to get these benefits increased. The rent on his Section 8 apartment is mostly covered, but Dom is making ends meet by working part-time as a carpenter and handyman.