Mirror Image: In the Homeless Men He Helps, Philip Wu Sees a Little Bit of Himself
There was a time in Philip Wu's life, after he lost his wife, his home, his job and his outlook on life, when he knew he had to make a change.
Then, at a church dinner for the Miami homeless, a minister talked to him about the possibility of a new life.
"I never heard that I had a chance to start over," Wu says, remembering that day.
Now that the 39-year-old Georgia State junior majoring in policy studies has reclaimed his life, he's devoting himself to helping give other men another chance. His Victory Temps program allows Atlanta men to renovate buildings and receive food and shelter as payment. And with the program's local success, Wu has started similar programs in other parts of the world, including Africa.
Wu was surprised to find himself homeless in Miami. After all, as a teenager he had worked full time in an Italian restaurant to earn enough money to attend a private high school. Then he joined the United States Army and started a record business. But when the business failed, everything in his life seemed to crumble with it, he says.
Getting involved with the Habitat for Humanity and Americorps community service programs helped Wu realize that the best way to help himself was to help others who were in similar, or worse, situations.
"At some point, I realized I was good at helping folks," Wu says. "It gave me a little joy."
Eventually, Wu worked his way up to supervising volunteers, and his story caught the eye of the Clinton administration. Wu testified on Americorps' behalf before Congress in 1995, when the government was considering making cuts to the program.
In Atlanta, he still supervises former homeless men in their renovation projects. And he's proud when he hears about the guys who used to live on the streets who now drive around looking for homeless men to join their cause.
"Everyone has something to offer, to give back," he says. "We don't turn anyone away."