Spotting Potential
Michael didn’t fit the pattern of many she met on patrol. He wasn’t battling addiction or mental illness. His focus suggested purpose. Over the next few days, Carmen saw him often. Their polite nods became greetings, and eventually, conversations.
Michael had been homeless nearly a year after losing his job, buried under medical bills and rising rent. With fifteen years in software development, he carried frustration about an industry that dismissed older workers.
“I helped build systems that now screen people like me out,” he once said, tapping his laptop.
