Former homeless man helps others experiencing homelessness through nonprofit

Former homeless man forms nonprofit to help others

Antony Jackson has lived the experience of being homeless. Now he runs a nonprofit to help those in that same situation, including the woman who helped him.

AUSTIN, Texas - Antony Jackson has lived the experience of being homeless.

In Antony's early adult life he was living inside his car while he was finishing his college degree.

"Maybe two years out of that, I would have been outside if it wasn't for mama Sonya, opening her house to me and allowing me to sleep in the living room. All of her rooms were full because she had her own kids," says Jackson.

She let him stay with her for about a year. "I opened my doors because my mother was like that. They are with their kids that I have now. It's because of my mom," says Sonya Johnson.

"She's my second mom. So, on my phone, I have mama number two," says Jackson.

Now Antony runs a nonprofit called We Can Now to help those who experienced homelessness and lend a helping hand. We Can Now services the communities in many ways, including providing the homeless population with the essentials of life such as water, food, fruits, hygiene, and more.

We Can Now has a department that will be assisting felons with finding opportunities for work in the community which will help them receive a fair shot, as well as a second chance in life as we all so deserve.

"And when I was going through my experiences, we didn't have any resources outside of the Salvation Army," says Jackson.

Antony knew he wanted to do more.

"We have a youth program in the felony program, and with the diversion which happen on the site is another program that we have where if you have a job and have a steady income, we can help you undivert. You need to be placed into a house or an apartment," says Shakendra Jackson with We Can Now.

Through the years We Can Now has helped a large homeless population in Travis County, including mama Sonya who became homeless in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic after she lost her job.

We Can Now was able to get mama Sonya in the diversion program, where they were able to get her in her own apartment.

"I was just overwhelmed like I am now, like now I get teary eyed; I really appreciate him," says Johnson.

Antony says this feels like a full circle being able to help mama Sonya the same way she did many years later.

To learn more about We Can Now, click here.