…While Rhys is from San Antonio, he spent much of his childhood in Sabinal, a small Texas town about an hour’s drive west.
He was placed in the foster care system when he was 6 years old and was adopted by his foster mother when he was 10.
But their relationship was strained and he wanted independence.
“I moved back here to give us some space [and] get on my feet,” he said. “You can’t really get a good job in a small town and I wanted to be on my own — but I couldn’t support myself.”
He eventually found himself living with someone who was struggling with mental health issues and drug addiction — a combination that led to violence in 2018, he said.
“I didn’t have anywhere else to go,” he said. “When people say that their drug use only affects them — they’re wrong because it affects everybody around you, even if you don’t think so.”
He found the Thrive Youth Center program at Haven for Hope and spent 13 months waiting for housing through Opportunity Home San Antonio, formerly San Antonio Housing Authority.
Read the full article by Iris Dimmick on the SA Report website here.
