KMPH Fox 26 Central San Joaquin Valley News Source in Fresno, California Entertainment, News, Sports and Weather | Special Assignment: Homeless to Homebound

Special Assignment: Homeless to Homebound

By: Ashley Ritchie

As Fresno city officials closed the chapter that was “Tent City” last July, Diana Tuttle and her husband Marcus Gonzalez opened another.

"It just changed my whole aspect about living and being better and more comfortable," Gonzalez said at the time.

Diana swapped the tent for a trade and enrolled in a culinary program at a local adult school.

Today, she's just weeks away from completing her degree.

"I love going to school. My teacher's great. He's a really great person," Tuttle said.

Living on the streets with her husband and dog Sadie just four months ago, daily life was not easy.

"I usually didn't even sleep, stay awake 24/7. My dog would be barking. Someone would be yelling. There would be a fight, here comes the ambulance, here comes the cops," she said.

Now she gets up at five every morning, makes coffee, heads to school for the day and looks for a job after.

"We’re home and we're getting our life back together. We're not out there in the elements worrying about the things that we were. Hell of a lot better," Tuttle said.

"We just want to make sure that this is one component in their daily lives that they don't have to worry about," Greg Barfield, the city of Fresno’s homelessness prevention and policy manager, said.

Barfield says each individual placed into housing was to pay 30% of their income toward rent.

If their income is zero, that's what they pay.

But he says, because many of the tenants are now receiving some money, the federal funding has lasted longer than anticipated.

And the program is extended until January 31st.

"I think what it's done is increased our credibility greatly. We were known as the folks who had been sued by the ACLU. We were known by the city that did not have very much kindness toward homeless individuals," Barfield said.

But it hasn't been completely smooth sailing.

Owners of one motel on Motel Drive say of the 16 people who moved there from “Tent City”, only two of them remain.

"You want to help yourself, you have to look like you want to help yourself," Michael Mitchum, who moved from Tent City into the motel, told us in July.

"You ain't gotta worry about dirty clothes. You ain’t gotta worry about smelling. It's time to build up your self esteem and try to do something to better your life," Willie Mack, who also moved from Tent City to the motel, told us in July.

But when we went back recently to see how Mitchum and Mack were doing, neither of them still lived there.

And though Diana and Marcus still have a roof over their heads, they haven’t been able to find work.

But Diana says there's no way she'll beg for money.

"It’s hard enough to ask my daughter for a cigarette," she said.

But this cook-to-be isn't giving up.

And she's got a clear vision of her future.

"Own my own business, maybe a steakhouse. Right now I’m working on taco truck," she said.

It's a chapter of their lives that seemed to be closed, but opened back up four months ago when Diana found a place to hang her apron.

Greg Barfield says the city is looking at ways to make this a permanent program.

So right now they're looking for more funding sources and plan to reach out to the community.

He also said they're exploring a tenant based voucher program that is similar to section eight and would use city and federal funding to provide housing.

If you have any information on job opportunities for Diana Tuttle or her husband you can email them at diana.tuttle@gmail.com.