“To hear her say that, that’s everything,” Weaver said. “That’s the reason I’m doing this. But what I want more than for Denise to have a job, is for her to be able to move on from all of this. I want to get her to where she’s not worrying about where she’ll sleep, but worrying about banks and bosses.”

‘A job for everyone’

HELP workers earned $24,000 in 2013, $36,000 in 2014 and $38,000 in 2015, but Weaver said work has slowed lately and he is struggling to find more businesses in Corvallis willing to hire HELP workers.

“I firmly believe there is a job for everyone, even in this small town,” he said. “Everybody can do one job better than anyone else. We just need to make those connections and we need help from businesses to make that happen.”

HELP worker Andrew Mattravers also did some gardening and weeding work this week. Mattravers, a former Oregon State University student and former firefighter, became homeless a few years ago when he wasn’t able to work after getting into a debilitating car accident. He didn’t have insurance and the accident also cost him most of his money.