DANA
“I look confident in my portrait.”
Dana worked as a radio host years ago. Even today, I can still hear his charismatic character come through in our discussions. For a few years now, he’s found his home on our Santa Ana streets, often frequenting the our local pizza shop to catch them as they throw away extra pizzas that didn’t sell for the day. It’s not uncommon to see Dana with four to five boxes of pizza atop the handlebars of his bicycle.
At Dana’s portrait reveal, something special happened in his heart. He said, “I look confident” when he saw his painting. He saw something new inside himself. Confidence had escaped him for years. Two days after his new confidence boost, Dana met me at my doorstep with good news that he went and found housing in a local sober living home. He’s attempting to set foot on a new path, leaving behind the things that caused setbacks, and looking confidently towards the future. Dana dreams of the day he can be reconnected with his family, specifically his daughter and grandchildren.