By Isabela Gamez
Primavera Foundation
For Carroll Bowman, helping others is personal.
After experiencing homelessness for several years, Carroll found his way to The Primavera Foundation around 2022, connecting with staff at the Resource Center.
“They meant a lot to me,” Carroll said. “They made me want to do what they’re doing — casework.”
The support he received from those who walked alongside him during a difficult period left a lasting impression. Today, Carroll is giving that support back.
A former Primavera participant, Carroll now volunteers and serves on Primavera’s Lived Experience Advisory Council, where people with firsthand experience of homelessness help inform the work of the organization.
From participant to volunteer
Carroll remembers the people who helped him when he was searching for stability. He describes Primavera and The Salvation Army as places that made a meaningful difference in his life.
“I went to other places, and none could compare to this place and The Salvation Army,” he said. “They really helped me a lot.”
That experience shaped what he hopes to do next.
Carroll, 65, wants to pursue casework and peer support so he can help people who are still experiencing homelessness.
“There are some I would like to help pay it back to — the homeless that are still out here,” he said. “I want to try to pay it back and get as many (people) as I can off the street and try to do casework. That’s really what I want to do.”
He knows there is still more for him to learn, and he has sought out peer support and other opportunities to build his skills. But his lived experience gives him something that cannot be taught in a classroom: an understanding of what it feels like to navigate homelessness firsthand.
“You can’t describe being homeless if you’ve never been there,” Carroll said. “You have to really have a point of view or a way to think about it to know what it feels like to be without a home.”
Learning to advocate for himself — and others
Carroll’s journey toward housing also taught him the importance of self-advocacy.
After spending time in different places and navigating the housing system, Carroll eventually received a Section 8 voucher and moved into his own apartment.
Looking back, he wishes he had learned to advocate for himself sooner.
“One thing to teach the homeless is advocacy — being an advocate for yourself,” he said.
That lesson came through more than his housing journey. Carroll also learned to speak up when he needed help navigating other challenges and sought out professional support when he realized he was struggling with his memory.
His apartment, he said, is filled with reminders of the journey he has taken — photographs, meaningful objects and messages that remind him where he has been and where he wants to go.
Volunteering with purpose
Carroll’s commitment to helping others extends beyond his work with Primavera.
He hopes to continue finding opportunities where he can contribute, including through organizations that provide employment and services for people with disabilities.
For Carroll, volunteering is part of a larger purpose.
“The good thing is we have so many people that want to help and try to make (things) better,” he said, pointing to organizations including Primavera, The Salvation Army and Beacon Group.
His experience has also given him a strong desire to see more options for people experiencing homelessness, particularly more places where people can find temporary shelter and stability.
“We need more… for the men (and)…for the women. We need them all over the place,” he said.
He believes Tucson can continue looking for creative ways to expand housing and shelter options so that people do not have to spend their nights on the streets.
Paying it forward
Carroll often returns to the idea of paying it back — helping others because people once helped him.
He remembers what it was like to search for a place to stay and to feel the uncertainty of not having a home. Those experiences are part of why he feels such a strong connection to people currently experiencing homelessness.
“They’re kind of family,” he said.
Now, as a volunteer and member of Primavera’s Lived Experience Advisory Council, Carroll has transformed his experience into a reason to serve.
He knows he cannot change everything overnight. But he wants to use the time he has to make a difference for people who are still where he once was.
“I just want to keep doing as much as I can for the people out here on these streets,” he said. “Nobody seems to understand what they’re going through.”
For Carroll, giving back is more than a ‘thank you’ to the people and organizations that helped him. It is a commitment to make sure someone else has a person in their corner, too.
“I’m trying to pay it back.”