David San Lorenzo's journey from experiencing homelessness to becoming a bilingual case manager

By: Michelle Calderon 🇸🇻

Image courtesy of David San Lorenzo

David San Lorenzo’s life has been anything but easy. From overcoming homelessness as a young immigrant in Washington, D.C., to adapting to a new country and language at just 18, Lorenzo has had many challenges in his short 24 years of life. 

While these challenges have brought Lorenzo many sad memories, they have also shaped him into a resilient young man with a strong desire to help others going through a similar situation. 

Lorenzo grew up in El Salvador with a stern military father.

 “For my dad, a military man having a gay son was like a nightmare,” he said.

Unfortunately, Lorenzo’s experience with an unaccepting family is common in Latino countries, especially in El Salvador. According to Equaldex, same-sex marriage remains illegal in El Salvador as of 2024 and there are limited protections when it comes to housing discrimination against LGBTQ people. 

Lorenzo said that even though he knew his father wouldn’t approve of him being gay, he decided to tell everyone via social media.

 “I posted that I was gay, and my father kicked me out of the house,” Lorenzo said. 

Lorenzo said that after his father kicked him out of his house and was disowned by his family, he moved to the United States and lived in Washington, D.C. 

“I ended up living at the shelter, Casa Ruby, and was working multiple jobs while trying to figure out how to continue my education and go to college,” Lorenzo said. 

Lorenzo said that his biggest challenges when he first arrived in the U.S. were learning English and navigating the education system.

 “I knew as a first-generation student that I wanted to go to college, but I had no one to guide me or show me how. I was constantly going into the University of the District of Columbia campus to ask for help on how I could register and pay for classes,” Lorenzo said. 

Eventually, through the help of Spanish-speaking mentors, he was able to obtain his GED and is currently working towards his degree in social work at the University of the District of Columbia. 

While Lorenzo now works as a bilingual case manager and was able to move out of the shelter and into his own apartment, he remembers how hard it was balancing multiple jobs as a college student and living in a shelter.

 “At a shelter, you are sharing a room and there aren’t a lot of other spaces you can go to. Sometimes you have homework to do and the other person in your room is watching a movie really loud,” Lorenzo said. 

Lorenzo also said that the long hours he had to work made it difficult to find time to complete his schoolwork. 

“There were times where I was like I don’t know if I can do this. But I kept pushing and I decided to go at my own pace. I go to school part-time to be able to work at the same time,” Lorenzo said. 

Even though he hasn’t completed his degree in social work yet, Lorenzo is already making a difference in the lives of homeless immigrant youth. He already has a lot of social work experience under his belt. 

From Aug. 2022 through Nov. 2023, Lorenzo worked at the Latino Economic Development Center in Washington, D.C. During his time at this center, he focused on canvassing eviction prevention. He also assisted homeowners that were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Lorenzo then worked at another organization, Supporting and Mentoring Youth Advocates and Leaders, known as SMYAL. During his time at SMYAL, Lorenzo worked as a bilingual street outreach specialist. In this role, he would help young adults, ranging in age from 18 to 30, who were experiencing homelessness advocate for themselves and locate resources that are there to help them but, due to a language barrier, they don’t even know these resources exist. 

These resources include help with getting IDs and driver’s licenses. 

“People don’t know where to look for help because information on where to find help is often in English only. People don’t know how to advocate for themselves or where to go when they need help because it’s not written in the language they know,” Lorenzo said. 

Lorenzo just started a new job as a bilingual case manager at the Latin American Youth Center, where he continues his advocacy and support for homeless youth. 

While Lorenzo acknowledges that homelessness is challenging for everyone, he believes that being an immigrant makes the experience even harder. 

According to the scholarly article “Stemming the rise of Latinx Homeless: Lessons from Los Angeles County,” by Melissa Chinchilla and Sonya Gabrielian, out of fear of deportation many undocumented immigrants end up homeless because they don’t fight against evictions and rent raises. 

“Undocumented immigrants and mixed-status households are less likely to fight an eviction or illegal rent increase, fearing landlord retaliation through the involvement of Immigrants and Customs Enforcement,” Chinchilla and Gabrielian said. 

“Homeless immigrants are treated even worse. They are not seen as human and many people think they don’t deserve help,” Lorenzo said. 

Lorenzo aims to continue to advocate for and empower immigrants facing homelessness, encouraging them to take advantage of resources. 

“I want to show other immigrants that they matter and deserve to be helped regardless of where they come from and what language they speak,” Lorenzo said.

Lorenzo said that for those who want to help people experiencing homelessness, there are many ways to assist them that don’t involve just giving them money.

“You can volunteer to be a translator and a mentor, and you can cook for them,” Lorenzo said.

Lorenzo believes that the best way to help people experiencing homelessness is to show them that their lives matter and that there are resources for them that can improve their lives.