“The Lord says, ‘You just keep going. Don’t give up.’ I ain’t gonna give up.”
This Fourth of July, Andy is hoping to join the parade.
A lifelong Greeley resident, he’s already picked out his red, white and blue outfit and decorated his electric bike for the occasion. He talks about the celebration with the excitement of someone who loves his hometown.
“It ain’t the same Greeley I grew up in,” he said. “But it’s still home.”
If you’ve spent time around Guadalupe Apartments, you’ve probably seen Andy. Staff know him as the neighbor who’s always picking up trash, checking in on others or finding another small way to help. No one asks him to.
He just does it.
Several years ago, life looked very different.
After the family housing he relied on was sold, Andy spent several months experiencing homelessness before learning about Guadalupe Apartments, a Catholic Charities Housing community.
At Catholic Charities, we know that homelessness is about more than losing housing. When people lose stability, they often lose the connections that help them feel rooted in their community. Through ministries like Samaritan House Greeley, which provides emergency shelter and supportive services, and Guadalupe Apartments, which offers stable, affordable housing, Catholic Charities walks alongside neighbors as they rebuild not only their lives, but also their sense of belonging.
For Andy, that belonging looks a lot like the Greeley he has always loved.
Nearly seven years after moving into Guadalupe Apartments, he spends his days giving back in the quiet ways that come naturally to him. He volunteers at Samaritan House Greeley, cheers on the UNC Bears, keeps the apartment grounds clean and proudly calls himself a Greeley native.
He doesn’t describe those things as service.
To Andy, they’re simply what neighbors do.
Life has brought its share of hardship. He’s experienced the loss of loved ones and health challenges that have forced him to slow down, even when he would rather keep moving. Through it all, his faith has remained steady.
“The Lord says, ‘You just keep going. Don’t give up.’ I ain’t gonna give up.”
Andy didn’t need Catholic Charities to become a good neighbor.
He already had that heart.
What he needed was the stability to keep living it.
Today, the man who once needed neighbors to walk alongside him has become the kind of neighbor every community hopes to have.
That’s what we mean when we say:
Supporting Neighbors. Transforming Lives.