"I had decided to become a statistic"

Tyler's story

These terse and sad words formed the context of what became a testimony of love and hope. A little over

five years ago, a young man came to Anchor House who was seventeen years old. His name was Tyler. The profile

on him was not encouraging. Generally, when young men come to us at seventeen, this means that they have burned

all of their bridges and are out of options. Or to put it mildly, few people want to take older boys into

their homes.

In the past, before our transitional houses, it also meant that they were just months away from homelessness. Tyler was a statistic waiting to happen, like too many in the foster care system. As he walked through the doors of Anchor House, he seemed consigned to his fate. In his words, he said, “I had decided to become a statistic.”


Tyler didn’t know it, but a miracle was about to occur. It was the miracle of Anchor House. To hear Tyler

tell the story, he came to Anchor House without any expectations. But something happened. People at Anchor House

cared for Tyler.


“I just kept waiting for people to treat me like garbage, because that’s how I felt about myself.”


Except the employees of Anchor House did the opposite. They loved him and valued him as God’s creation.

Tyler noted, “I didn’t understand it. I didn’t understand why they cared. I kept waiting for them to treat me badly, but it never happened. They cared for me, and I could tell that it was real.”


The critical juncture in Tyler’s life came when he was about to turn eighteen. He had begun to contemplate what life would be like on the street without a home to go to. He would have nowhere to lay his head. Then out of the blue, Misty Linville, our office manager, asked Tyler where he planned to go when he turned eighteen. He replied that he did not know where he would go. Then Misty said it, “Would you like to come live at my house with my family?”


Tyler was dumbfounded. In fact, he had no idea what to say to someone who cared so much about him and who had known him less than a year. Shocked and overwhelmed, Tyler went to his room and started to cry. He cried for over an hour. He couldn’t believe that someone loved him so much and actually cared for him enough to give him a home. Fate had been interrupted by love.


A little over two thousand years ago, another man came into this world with no place to lay his head. In fact, when he first arrived “there was no room in the inn.” Yet, his life changed more lives than any other life in all of history. Perhaps this is why God seems to have a special place in his heart for those who have no place to go and have felt the fear of homelessness.


Tyler is now going to college at the University of Florida and is doing great in his sophomore year. His whole life has changed. Of course he did turn out to be a statistic, but not the kind he had originally thought that he would become. He is one of the many boys that Anchor House has helped change—for the better— and we have the statistics to prove it. Over 95 percent of our boys in a transitional program (or going into the home of one of our staff) finish high school or get a GED and 50% end up in college. They are pictures of what Anchor House is all about—changing lives and restoring hope.   

By Danielle Stolk June 28, 2024
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