Home Away from Home
Resident finds comfort, health at Samaritan House

Cirilo calls Samaritan House “home,” although his family is hundreds of miles away in Guerrero, Mexico. At 61 years old, he has seen and done more than most people will experience in a lifetime. He doesn’t speak English, yet he finds comfort in the friendships and support he has found at Samaritan House.

A father of two daughters and seven sons, Cirilo is no stranger to hard work. In Mexico, he owned a little plot of land where he turned the fruits of the earth into a living wage for his bustling family. He enjoys working with his hands, but, like many before him, he found it difficult to earn enough money in his home town as times got hard. Cirilo looked north, where he hoped to find opportunities that would offer his family a better way of life.

His first trip to the United States was in 1978. He came alone, working in manual labor positions and sending money back to his family every month. He did not return home for four years, and every day, he faced the imminent threat of being returned to Mexico by immigration authorities.

This cycle continued until 1986, when he received his amnesty papers, allowing him to work freely, without fear of deportation. Soon after, Cirilo found a job with a construction company for whom he worked diligently until recently, when he severely injured his arm in an accident at a job site.

Although some days were harder than others, he found comfort in the letters he would receive from his family. His children’s futures inspired him to push forward, suppressing the loneliness that he felt so often. It was ten years ago, during a routine physical exam for work that he discovered he was HIV-positive.

“They did some blood tests,” he said through an interpreter, “and when they told me I had HIV, I just didn’t believe it.” Cirilo claims to have never done drugs, but admits that the loneliness of such an isolated lifestyle had caused him to lose sight of his priorities at times. He contracted the virus through unprotected sex while in the states.

Cirilo’s health remained stable for eight years while he maintained a steady regimen of medications to fight the virus. Two years ago, his health declined, and his living conditions did little to contribute to improved health.

“I was living with several other people to save money,” he says, “but none of them did any kind of cleaning, so the place was a mess. I would try to keep it clean, but after I got hurt and was getting sick, I couldn’t keep up.” Last November, his case manager suggested that he consider moving to Samaritan House. He has lived there for almost a year, and he says that his life is much better for it.

“Everyone is very nice, and we are treated very fairly, no matter who we are,” he explains. He hopes to remain at Samaritan House unless situations change in Mexico, so that he can receive the same kind of services closer to home. He says there is nothing even remotely comparable to Samaritan House in Mexico that he knows of.

The gift of life has allowed Cirilo to see each of his children marry and move into places of their own. He hopes to continue to help each of them in whatever way he can, although his limited finances keep him from being able to send much money. Nevertheless, he enjoys employing his carpentry skills to help them build on extra rooms for grandchildren, and he looks forward to returning for a visit in March for his town’s annual Fiesta.

“I do what I can for my family,” he says. “I have worked hard, but I’m old enough now that it’s time to retire, time to rest. I just want to see my children grow, and I want to do anything I can to keep them from having to struggle like I have.”