Meet Jonathan

At night, Jonathan likes to open his window and listen to the sounds of a mountain stream that runs behind his Boone apartment. It helps him relax, even puts him to sleep at times.

Jonathan likes knowing he can open and close the window whenever he chooses. He can cook steak, hamburgers and hotdogs in his own kitchen and come and go as he pleases. He’s happier here than he was while living in a string of adult care homes and assisted facilities over the course of 20 years.

He can even jam to the local classic rock station, he said, without anyone telling him to turn it off.

As a teen growing up in Wilkesboro, Jonathan suffered a traumatic brain injury in a horrific motorcycle crash. Following an extended recovery, he left high school after his junior year and worked at local furniture factories, textile mills, grocery stores and auto detailing shops. Despite his hard work, Jonathan found himself entering an adult care home in his 20s due to his brain injury and behavioral health issues.

Jonathan moved out of the last of those facilities two years ago. TCLI staff helped him find his own apartment and accompanied him to buy furnishings and supplies to make it his own. Today, Jonathan works third shift part-time at the nearby McDonalds, where his friendly, outgoing nature has won over coworkers and customers alike. He works with his care team to ensure he has the help he needs when he needs it.

In his spare time, Jonathan helps his property manager with cleaning and maintenance. He counts his neighbors as some of his best friends, and he’s glad to be where he is today.

“I like everybody that lives here,” he said with a smile. “I think the world of everybody that lives here. We get along like peas in a pod, everybody here … I couldn’t ask for no better place than this.”