His Next Chapter - Joe's Story
Joe Gorrondona is an 18-year-old young man who has spent his life moving across various towns in Southeast Louisiana, from Slidell to Kenner, Harrahan to LaPlace, and Metairie to New Orleans. His upbringing has been marked by personal hardship, loss, and instability, but also by a determination to find safety, stability, and success.
Born into a family deeply affected by Hurricane Katrina, Joe’s early years were shaped by the disaster’s aftermath, from living in a FEMA trailer to watching his family struggle to rebuild. At the age of eight, Joe experienced a traumatic incident of abuse from individuals he trusted, an event that would deeply impact his childhood. Despite reporting the incident and seeing his abusers face consequences, the emotional toll lingered. When he was 12, bullying at school compounded these struggles, and after the school failed to support him, he was homeschooled for several years, further isolating him from his peers and formal education. His mother, experiencing her hardships, drank heavily.
For several years, Joe received little education at all and spent most of his time playing video games. Joe’s adolescence brought new challenges, particularly with the death of his beloved aunt from pancreatic cancer and his mother’s serious health issues during Hurricane Ida. His mother's battle with pneumonia, COVID-19, and spinal meningitis left her in the ICU for weeks, and during this time, Joe took on the emotional weight of his family's struggles. When his mother finally returned home, Joe discovered his father collapsed on the floor, and the family’s living situation spiraled further into instability.
At almost 16, Joe returned to public school, where he found some solace in football and his first serious relationship. However, the end of that relationship led Joe to attempt suicide, after which he spent time in a mental health facility. Upon his release, he struggled to return to school and eventually dropped out. His family continued to face eviction and financial hardships, and Joe found himself turning to creative outlets like making short films to cope. Moving to a motel in New Orleans, Joe and his mother began working at Chick-fil-A, though this period was marked by heavy drinking and marijuana use. Eventually, he lost his job due to a lack of documentation proving his age, and his family’s situation worsened with theft, unemployment, and eviction.
Despite these setbacks, Joe found a brief sense of safety working at Pizza Hut while living in an abusive household with extended relatives. His introduction to Rosemary Manint and the One Way Love program offered a glimpse of hope, despite his relatives escalating their abuse. The toxic environment eventually forced him to quit school and work more hours. Now, Joe is seeking a fresh start through the Next Chapter program. He sees this as his chance to break free from the abuse he experienced and to find a safe place where he can finish his education, gain life skills, and work towards his dreams. Joe hopes to earn his high school equivalency and pursue a career in the film industry or culinary arts. His parents are no longer living together and they continue to struggle with financial instability and health issues. His goal is to make them proud and bring them together again under one roof. He dreams of building a stable future for himself—one where he can grow emotionally, financially, and creatively.
Looking ahead, Joe dreams of a happy family life, building his own production company, and providing for his family in a way that was often out of reach during his upbringing. He hopes his mother will stay sober, and that they can one day reunite in a permanent home. More than anything, Joe yearns for stability—a place to call his own, a garden to nurture, and a life full of hope and potential.