AFC staff member Adam Henderson served as the keynote speaker at our 2025 Gala. He shared his story during an interview with Sam Altis, AFC's Executive Director. Watch the interview or read the transcript below. 

​Sam: You may know our guest speak from his time in the shelter, but now as a full-time AFC staff. So please welcome Adam Henderson. [cheers and applause from audience]
 
Adam: Nice to meet you.
 
Sam: You have some fans in the room.
 
Adam: This is my...this is my family. I really feel that way. [audience applause]
 
Sam: Alright Adam, let’s hear some of your background. Folks may have seen you around a lot but they may not know all of your story. Tell us a little bit about where you grew up and what life was like for you growing up.
 
Adam: I am originally from Newport Beach, Southern California. My father was a furniture refinisher and my mother was kind of a makeshift type person. I came from a split family, so we didn’t stay together very often. It was more like a traveling type situation with my mom and a stay-at-home situation with my father, when it was possible to get along with my father. So my upbringing was quite difficult but I was able to attend school and I made it through high school and some college. I was able to enjoy the benefits of having a scholarship for attending college.
 
Sam: As folks have probably heard from you, basketball was part of your journey. You want to tell us a little about that aspect of growing up?
 
Adam: Yeah, I played basketball most of my childhood life, through high school, and it actually got me my foot in the door for college. It didn’t last as long as I wanted it to but I was able to attend two years of college at Cal State Long Beach. From there, I was able to pick up a few agents that helped me go overseas. So I spent some time in Taiwan, and in Mexico, and in Alaska and Canada playing basketball. So I did get a chance to travel. So that part about me has always been the enjoyment of my life, the traveling.
 
Sam: You said at one point you were on like a Harlem Globetrotters like team? Is that right?
 
Adam: Exactly. That was how I got through Canada and Alaska, was with that travel team.
 
Sam: Nice. So you’ve said you’re comfortable with me asking this: How did you go from that to losing housing for the first time?
 
Adam: I would try to come home, back to my father, and we didn’t get along. So I mean, he was a construction worker. I would have worked there for a while but then after a while we’d get in a large argument so I would have to hit the streets. And from there, I would go various places but I would always end up being in a place called Santa Monica. And there I kind of found comfort in homelessness, which is a bad thing for some people because you really just don’t get your foot back into the door. So it was easier for me to stay around services, like HPHP [Homeless Person’s Health Project] would be a service that you have here, than it was for me to actually find housing again and you know, pay rent, have to get a steady job, that type of thing. It wasn’t really in my makeup to do it from scratch on my own. I was always trying to go back to, you know, work with my father or do some things like that and it would just never work.
 
Sam: And how old were you, at that time?
 
Adam: I think in my forties. [At] around forty-five my father passed, so that was the end of the attempt to, you know, maybe take over his business or that type of thing. Most of my life I’ve been in and out of homeless situations, as far as I know.
 
Sam: So fast forward a bit. What first brought you to AFC?
 
Adam: What first brought me to AFC is I had a friend in Santa Monica, his name was Michael. We used to call him Thurston Howell. But he was a really kind guy, a really good guy to be around, and he brought me up here. We were going to go to one of his — his family is Potawatomi Native American, if you know that tribe. His mom was the oldest tribal member actually. He had family in Washington and I forget, I think it was in Oklahoma where some of the people that I know are from, they had a casino. So he was going to take me on a trip up to see some people that he knew in Washington, then we were going to Oklahoma to the casino to try to find work. But he ended up passing in San Francisco. And I didn’t know what to do at first.
 
I was living in The Tenderloin, basically around places where there was food. For some reason I was at a bus station, or something like that, and somebody asked me if I wanted to come to Santa Cruz. I said, yeah sure. Santa Cruz was one of the places that he’d [Michael] mentioned that he’d like to come to. So I was like, yeah, I think I’ll go check it out. And at that point in time, the cold weather shelter was up at the armory, and I thought that was really cool, to be inside for the winter. So, I kind of stayed around the shelter atmosphere here. Sometimes I would go back-and-forth from here to Los Angeles to check out the vibe there, but there wasn’t really anything there for me as far as community environment, or downtown streets team, or anything that I could jump into and pick up, you know, a gift card or some supplies and things like that. So I would go to Los Angeles and I would come back here. And then somebody offered to put my name on a list for AFC. So I put my name on a list for AFC and about a year later, I got into the program here for the Association of Faith Communities.
 
Sam: Yeah, I remember that when I first started as shelter manager, like a month after that, someone was like, Adam is back. And everyone was really excited that Adam was back. I was like, who’s this Adam guy? And then you came and Al was like, he’s my backup monitor and was very excited for you to come back as his backup. And I’ve got to see you, kind of, since then. Can you tell us what AFC has been like for you?
 
Adam: To me, it’s really heaven sent. Because of the fact that, I don’t think if I was still in Los Angeles, I don’t think I would be indoors anywhere. So I think that was the reason I kept migrating back to Santa Cruz, and now this program, AFC.
 
Sam: If you don’t know, Adam served as our overnight monitor for a while, and then we also brought him on staff in increasing ways. Can you tell us what made you feel like you were ready to take the jump back into housing? Both like financially, but also emotionally, socially, all of those things.
 
Adam: I think it more of a push from Courtney [audience applause]. Because I wasn’t really planning on getting back into housing. But as soon as I got the push, I started talking to Xenia and she helped me, and then I took it from there. The place where I am staying now is a place that we saw and I went forward with it, so I’m there now.
 
Sam: Yeah, that was this past fall right? Fall 2024?
 
Adam: Yeah, think so.
 
Sam: Can I ask how it’s been?
 
Adam: I love it. I love it where I stay. It’s really cool. King size bed! [audience laughter]
[Al, a former AFC monitor, joins the pair on stage]
 
Sam: We have a guest here.
 
Al: Adam, when you first came into the shelter, I knew you were the type of person that could handle being the monitor. That’s why I picked you as my assistant. [audience applause and Al exits the stage]
 
Sam: I’ll tell you during this time, Adam started as our monitor, and then he oversaw our shower program, in a part-time capacity. Then we realized we needed more shelter staff and so we were like, well, Adam is good at that too, so we brought him in on that. Then when he started to look for housing, we were like, we actually — we need Adam like 40 hours a week, and so we brought Adam on full-time. It was a no-brainer. I got to say, we needed Adam, it wasn’t just that Adam needed work. We needed Adam specifically, for all of the things that he does. He is our fixer. He is the person when something goes sideways, Adam will go take care of it: our truck, our trailer, our shower trailer... And he does it all with this like sense of calm and gentleness that’s really, really impressive. It’s a really unique gift.
 
So, last question for you, sort of as we’re reflecting on your journey and you being housed and working full-time for us now: What are you hoping for as you look ahead?
 
Adam: Um, I’m not really sure. I’ve never really been sure about the next, the next steps of my life. I’m grateful. That I have been, throughout my life, whenever people have helped me, I’ve always been extremely grateful. I’m grateful more so to this place because it seems like something that I can continue to do. And for me, that’s a big step up.

Sam: We hope you continue to do it, because we need you. Well, let me just finish by saying, Adam you are a gift to our team. Your perseverance, watching you over the last four years, just continue to push forward and continue to make steps forward, and then to become a bigger and bigger part of our team has been such an encouragement. And if I can say it, I’m really proud of you.
 
Adam: Thank you.
 
Sam: And I’m grateful that you’re a part of our team. Thank you, Adam.
[Cheers and applause from audience]

Courtney is a problem solver. After a successful 20-year management career in a residential substance abuse setting, she had the insight and courage to scale down her work life to find balance with her family life. But her career did not suffer. She started working at the AFC part-time in 2023, and now focuses her talents on helping clients find stability.

Courtney works collaboratively with clients to clarify housing goals, asking: Where would you most like to live? And how would you maintain that situation long-term? Then she surveys the big picture, noting the skills and knowledge the client already brings to the table, the personal challenges they face, and assessing how community resources could support a plan based on actionable steps.

Known as a mama bear, Courtney excels at helping others navigate through tricky situations. She works with her case managers to solve challenging client circumstances, offering new perspectives and novel ideas. Recently during a staff meeting, she noticed a client being pulled over by the police right outside our window. Courtney leaped up, and dashed across the street to lend support, making sure the situation would not escalate.

Michael Jordan is famous for stating, "Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen." Courtney is an all-star player at the AFC, making it happen with her invincible spirit to motivate and lift people to the next level. 

While we’re sad to see her go, we’re so grateful for Courtney’s time at AFC, and wishing her well in the next stage of life!
Written by Nicole Donovan