Six year old Zack Hernandez covered in filth, clueless to the very real disaster all around him. Seated on the floor of his cockroach infested and cavity ridden apartment on Michigan st in the slums of Chicago simply wishing for a bite to eat. It was a daily struggle for food, and it wasn't only the lack of money Zacks family had, it was that going outside in the hood usually ended up in robbery, getting jumped, or kidnapped. Zack was fearless, though; he went outside whenever he wanted.
Home wasn't exactly a safe haven either. Zack's father was an abusive drunk, and his mother Tasha was unable to do much due to her disability of suffering from anhidrosis. Anhidrosis is a rare condition that inhibits your sweat glands from producing sweat causing painful dry skin. Their only source of income at the time was unemployment and disability checks. All of that income went toward rent and a small assortment of food, so Zack was very dependent on himself doing side jobs for little pay and relying on friends for clothes or food.
Zack's father eventually decided that his family wasn't exciting enough, so he left to do his own thing. Zack's mother got a new man named Lee. They had Zacks brother Donovan, the four of them started getting paid child support and kept getting disability checks. Lee helped with moving into a new apartment But it was still an old dilapidated apartment with just a touch of improvement from the change of scenery. They continued living this struggle filled life living from check to check. At a later point in time when Zack was around 15 years old going to school, walking around the streets of Chicago knocking on doors and asking random people if he could do little jobs like mow the lawn or clear the snow off of driveways. He had also basically Raised his little brother through all of it.
His mom wasn't happy with being in Chicago with all the gangs, drugs, and the daily death count. She randomly found that joy in the peaceful town of Salida and moved the family to colorado. Whilst living in Salida, Zack's mother left Lee and Donovan was forced to go with. After some time of it just being the two of them his mother passed away from cancer. He was left on the streets of Salida with no form of ID, no way to get a job, and a high school dropout. The only thing left in his moms will for zack was crippling depression and multiple pushes to the edge of suicide. The only thing he could do is put one foot in front of the other and find humor in everything.
“Things were going very downhill for a very long time,” Zack said while staring at the floor. Until things slowly creeped uphill for him. He found a job that paid under the table; he saved up most of the money he earned. Around the age of 18 He started and finished his GED process whilst getting an identification card and a driver's license, along with his birth certificate. After saving enough money he got to see his brother and step dad once again. He finally visited his mothers grave in Chicago, a goal of his for a long time. After doing the things he had been wanting to do for what seemed like forever he moved back to Chicago and he thrived at making a living there. This was short lived because he got lonely real quick.
He came back to Salida and is thriving making a living and having fun with his two best pals. “What would I change? Hmm… the one thing I would change is… nothing.” he said with a big smile “I just have to keep getting money and make my Mom proud.”
