Former homeless youth, Sheldon Vance, returns to support inner-city kids
In his youth, Sheldon Vance lived on the streets and now spends his time helping at-risk kids.
A Vancouver non-profit has launched a week dedicated to supporting inner-city youth, and few people know better than Sheldon Vance how hard it is to be young and homeless.
In his late teens, Vance hitchhiked from Lethbridge, Alberta, to Vancouver after the death of his adopted father.
"When I first got here, It was quite new, and a culture shock," Vance told Our Vancouver's Gloria Macarenko.
"Some of the nights, I'd stay up walking all night. I'd stay on the beach, or sometimes underneath Granville bridge."
Vance spent seven years living on the streets of Vancouver, eventually developing and battling an addiction to crystal meth during that period. It was the services offered by Covenant House that would eventually help him off the street.
Not only did Covenant House provide shelter and stability, it was also where Vance found a new father figure in his life.
"He guided me along, even though I screwed up," Vance said.
Now, years later, Vance is a father himself to three young children. He's said that his years on the streets were a learning experience for him.
"That's what I try to tell my kids. We make mistakes and we build from our mistakes and we move on."
"Even if something does go wrong, there's always hope," Vance said.
Vance is giving hope to other impoverished and homeless youth in the city. In November of 2014, he raised over 50 thousand dollars in donations for Covenant House, including 25 thousand dollars of his own.
He doesn't plan to stop helping inner-city youth and at-risk kids anytime soon.
"It's always been a major part of my recovery… to help when I can," said Vance.
"If I can do it, other people can do it as well."