Joe Apollo

Memories of Endearing Personalities Joe Apollo

Mentally Ill, Homeless, Broke and Abandoned. Those were the circumstances facing many of those who found their way to Housing With Help. Memories of Endearing Personalities -- An Illustrated Memoir


Joe Apollo is a real estate broker who turned entrepreneur when he accepted a 94-room boarding home in lieu of a real estate commission. The agreement launched him on a twenty year odyssey that would define and give purpose to his life, while affecting the lives of hundreds of low-income, indigent, elderly and handicapped individuals who had fallen between the cracks. And it introduced him to a very special segment of our population that our middle and upper class rarely get to know beyond passing them on the street, much less becoming their friend.

Laugh on one page, cry on the next. Be amazed on another. And feel your heart melt when you turn the page again, as you meet Joe's friends with their irresistibly endearing personalities. Follow his journey through twenty years of catching those too-often helpless, ignored and forgotten people who fell through the cracks.

Known as Housing With Help, Inc., Richardson House and East Samaria provided a home to 180 of them. Most were living with mental illness, while all were living with life-altering afflictions that challenged their independence. You will get to know them well, and love them as Joe did when you read the 40 vignettes of his fondest and most unforgettable memories of these remarkable individuals, along with his story and philosophy.

You will discover a whole new category of friends. The kind of friends who will never be able to get you tickets to the next big game, co-sign a loan for you, or come with you to your next gala.

But who will have you discover a corner of your heart you didn't know you had.