Home, At Last

Daniel Williams was facing homelessness but is now shooting for the stars.

With a vocabulary and a passion bigger than his years, Daniel Williams, a seventh-grader at Mountain Valley Middle School in Canyon Lake, Texas, explained the science project on Pluto he made in the third grade. The project kick-started his fascination with space and his future as an aeronautics and aerospace engineer. Now thirteen-years-old, Daniel is no stranger to hunger and homelessness. He has had less than an easy life, and yet, he stays focused and keeps hope alive. Like the dwarf planet that captures his imagination, Daniel manages to hold his own in a world that is sometimes vast and indifferent.

Gwen Cunningham, the project director with Communities In Schools of South Central Texas who works closely with Daniel Williams and his family, described the Williams as “responsible, loving people who have always gotten by.”

Cunningham recalled, “Daniel came to Mountain Valley as a sixth grader last year, and at that time, Communities In Schools just helped him with school supplies.” The family was surviving until Earnie Williams, Daniel’s father, had a series of transient ischemic attacks (TIA), defined by the American Heart Association as “mini-strokes that produce stroke-like symptoms but no lasting damage,” in late 2009. Earnie Williams’ health insurance provider’s refused to pay for medical leave and he had difficulty in obtaining disability compensation due to the strokes being diagnosed as “non-permanent damage causing strokes.” Daniel’s father wasn’t able to work for several months, and he had to struggle not to lose his job as a check processor at a bank.  The Williams were evicted from their home in January 2010 after not being able to make their rent payments. Suddenly, this hardworking family of five was homeless, hungry and stranded.

Daniel Williams has memories of Communities In Schools reaching back to first grade: the organization had helped him get new shoes and free lunches during hard times; had provided his older sisters, Breanne and Ashleigh with guidance, school supplies and clothes; and had put the family in touch with the PTA Holiday Giving Tree to help out with Christmas presents. It was while Earnie Williams was out of work, however, that Daniel’s family began receiving more critical services from Communities In Schools.

 “Daniel started coming to me more to get support,” Cunningham said. “He was worrying about how to pay the bills, where his family was going to live, and if his father would be permanently disabled.”

 In addition to providing counseling and supportive guidance, Cunningham utilized Communities In Schools resources to provide the family with gas cards and help them qualify for food stamps, Medicaid, and Comal Independent School District’s Services for Homeless Students.

After the Williams were evicted, they sought temporary housing for a couple of months in a two-room summer cabin normally rented by the week to vacationers. But with tourism season fast approaching, the Williams were given notice to leave. As the family again faced being out in the cold, Cunningham received an auspicious phone call.

A businessman in the community who wished to remain anonymous contacted Communities In Schools about wanting to help a family in need by donating the rental of a vacant home he owned. “Because of the poor economy, he wanted to help,” explained Cunningham, who told the man about the Williams family as soon as she learned of the opportunity.

“When he heard their story,” she recalled, “he wanted to meet them.” With the help of Communities In Schools, the Williams family and the businessman were introduced to each other and they hit it off well. In March, Williams moved into their new home where they pay ten dollars per month in rent.

 “This house is a blessing,” Daniel said. “Without this house, we wouldn’t have an address to receive our food stamps, we wouldn’t have met the new friends we have, and,” he added with a smile, “I wouldn’t have my own room.” He described his hikes in the woods where he spends afternoons looking for animal tracks. “The nearest house is two football fields away, and we have our own water well,” he said with pride.

 “Gratitude is a trait that the Williams have instilled in their children,” Cunningham said. “Now that things are looking up, Daniel comes by my office at least once a week to say thank you and to update me on good things that are happening.” Even amidst their own struggles, the Williams family has taken other children in need of help into their home.

Daniel has maintained A and B grades in pre-advanced placement classes, excellent school attendance, and has remained involved in athletics throughout the family’s difficulties. “That is one of the things that has impressed me about him,” Cunningham said. “Because of his maturity, he comes to school and does great even in the face of all the stress.”

“I focused on school when I was at school,” said Daniel. “I focused on homework while I was doing homework. Baseball and football have taught me how to focus,” he explained, “and I’ve learned that is the key to getting through hard times. Even when things around me change, I just keep focusing.” Daniel plans to graduate from high school and someday attend Stanford University or the University of Denver as a student of aeronautics. His goal in life is to send the first manned mission to Pluto.