Mario — Rebuilding His Life

“When we were kids, my older brother and I played soccer every day,” Mario says. “We fought, we laughed, we always had each other.” That bond stayed with Mario when he followed his brother to Boston, eager to build his own life.

He worked wherever he could — in factories, recycling warehouses, snow shoveling and demolition. “I never stopped working,” he shares.

“I lived in the same building for ten years,” Mario says. “When a conflict with a neighbor escalated, the landlord asked me to leave.”

Around the same time, Mario had left his job, planning to find another. Instead, everything fell apart at once. “Suddenly, I had no place to live and no income,” he says. With his brother no longer living in Massachusetts, Mario had no one to turn to.

For several days, Mario slept outside with a sleeping bag. “When rain finally came, I knew I needed to find shelter and get help,” he says.

That decision led him to Pine Street Inn. “I spent two years in shelter during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic,” shares Mario. “It was stressful, but I kept busy and exercised daily. Then a miracle happened — my case manager told me they had an apartment available at a Pine Street residence in Roxbury.”

“I was so happy,” Mario says. “But that same day, I learned that my brother had died. Everything went black.”

With time and support from Pine Street’s clinicians, Mario began to heal. “I didn’t understand how loss could change you so dramatically,” he reflects. “I understand now.”

Today, Mario is rebuilding his life. “I carry the memory of my brother with me always,” he says. “I’m learning to move forward and have Pine Street to thank for that.”