JIMMY

AHO First Youth Outreach Advisor – Jimmy is still working with AHO to help other youth like himself fulfill their potential.  Jimmy was born in Brazil and was abandoned at birth and placed in an orphanage where he was abused. At age 10 he was adopted by a family with 17 other children and brought to the US.  After one year in his adoptive family he was put into residential placement until age 18. Leaving placement, the only “home” he knew, Jimmy was homeless for 4 years until he found AHO. With the ongoing support of an AHO life coach and community navigator, Jimmy received housing support, a cell phone, employment, legal aide, scholarships, therapy, wardrobe, healthcare, dental care with the assistance of AHO Alliance for Youth community partners. Today, Jimmy is a caring father of a 2½ year old son, going to College of Marin taking 12 units and 30 hours a week.

Jimmy is developing his skills as a business entrepreneur with the guidance of an AHO business mentor for his t-shirt project “Better Days with Jimmy Hayes”.  Cheryl Jennings, Channel 7 News Anchor featured Jimmy and his project on ABC TV. [Return to Youth Stories]