Forging a New Path Leads to a Second Chance: Julio's Story

Julio Guevara has spent much of his life in survival mode.

He grew up in gang culture in the San Gabriel Valley and entered prison for the first time at 19. Over the years, incarceration became a pattern: four prison terms, with a fifth looming.

“Prison felt normal,” Julio shared. “That was the path. That was the graduation.”

In the neighborhood he came from, prison wasn’t shocking; it was expected. For many young men around him, it was less a possibility and more a destination.

But as he faced the possibility of returning to prison again, something inside him shifted.

Julio entered a treatment program in April 2024. At first, his motivation was simple: stay out of prison. But as his mind began to clear and the days stacked up, he started seeing something he hadn’t been able to imagine before — a different route.

Choosing that different route required more than sobriety. It meant releasing an identity that had defined him for decades. It meant confronting trauma and learning to ask for help.

“Asking for help…some people might take it as weakness,” Julio said. “But that’s a powerful move."

As Julio progressed through treatment, another challenge emerged: housing. His time in recovery housing was running out, and returning to his old environment could undo everything he was building.

“My only option was to go back to where I come from,” he shared. “And I only knew how to be one way over there.”

Through a referral, Julio connected with Union Station Homeless Services and moved into interim housing at Casa Luna in El Sereno. For the first time, he had a place that was his — not a motel room, not a couch, not a cell.

“I have my key. I go in and out as I want,” Julio said. “This is my space.”

The stability at Casa Luna allowed Julio to keep building momentum: staying committed to recovery, enrolling in school, and pursuing work opportunities. At the same time, USHS staff guided him through intake and housing matching, moving him closer to permanent housing.

Today, he is studying Addiction Studies at East Los Angeles College, majoring in psychology and working toward becoming a substance abuse counselor. He is beginning a new job in the field and continues to surround himself with mentors and community.

Within months of entering interim USHS housing, Julio was matched to permanent housing in a new SRO building in Echo Park, a milestone that once felt impossible.

His past is still part of his story, but it won't dictate his next chapter.