Billy's Way Home began in 2021, after our beloved family member passed away. Billy was much more than his struggle with addiction and homelesness.  He was a son, a father, a brother, a cousin and a friend to everyone he met. Everyone else on the streets are also someone's very loved family member. We feel that any discussions about homelessness must begin on the streets. It is there that we meet the real people behind the word "homeless", learning their names and hearing their stories. Once homeless, it is difficult or even impossible to get reconnected with a social network. And, once a person loses that...they've lost the last thread to the fabric of society. The sense of belonging to a community is gone. Relationships are gone and feelings of disconnection and isolation take over. Recovery is dependent on strong support systems. Through our Weekly Street Outreach program, we give everyone we serve a strong, healthy social connection week after week. We are their community they have lost. Good conversations that had become rare or (worse yet, adversarial, even abusive), return. Eye contact, with which human beings acknowledge their mutual humanity, returns. Human touch is but a memory to many. We hug. We give handshakes, fist bumps and high fives! Bit by bit, connections with the social fabric are coming back together....it is a beautiful thing to see.