SALT LAKE CITY: In downtown Salt Lake City, three friends gathered on the sidewalk in front of City Creek Mall. In fact, it is the place where they first met in remarkable circumstances three years ago and where Korey Hathaway used to camp and ask for money.
“In a way, I didn’t want to come back here. I hate to see how it was here, but in a way, it’s kind of a closure,” Hathaway explained.
One of the friends who was with him on the sidewalk admitted that he did not think they would be together again in happy circumstances. “I wasn’t sure I would ever get off the streets,” Candice Madsen said.
In April 2017, Korey Hathaway was living with a drug addiction and had been homeless for five years. He landed on the streets after breaking his hand in a construction accident and became addicted to pain medications and then heroin.
“At first you want it. Then it gets to the point where you need it to go through. There in the end it wasn’t myself. I didn’t like it,” Hathaway said. “The only one who got me out was Michael.”
Michael Hansen found Hathaway when he crouched down to give a dollar to a sleeping homeless man and realized he was his best friend since childhood.
“When I looked him up, his jaw hit the ground almost because he was my best friend from elementary school to high school,” Hansen recalled.
Madsen, producer of KSL-TV, happened by chance and noticed that friends were sharing a pizza in the middle of the sidewalk. “The longer I looked, the more intrigued I was, and I finally heard one of them say, ‘Let’s take a picture.’
Madsen volunteered to take the photo and that’s when he was told they hadn’t seen each other for 14 years. “Then I said,‘ You won’t believe it. I’m a journalist and that’s an amazing story. “
Madsen produced a story about the meeting for KSL-TV and after it aired, people from all over the world cheered on the friend.
But taking Hathaway off the street was not an easy journey.
Hathaway said his addiction and fear of failing and letting his family go down again kept him on the street. “I always wanted to get out of the homeless house. I just didn’t know how,” he said.
Hansen’s long journey to get out of Hathaway from the streets finally ended in the spring of 2018, when Hathaway was hospitalized.
“Michael came and gave me a blessing and since then it’s been going up,” Hathaway said.
Hansen remembered driving to the hospital and thinking his friend would die. But when he offered the blessing, he knew his friend could live.
“At the time I knew that if he did everything the doctors asked him to do he would really live,” Hansen said.
It was a miracle that Hathaway lived. He spent about three months in and out of hospitals due to heart, lung and kidney failure. Doctors didn’t think he would be able to get out of dialysis without a transplant, but they did.
“I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for what the doctors and nurses did,” Hathaway said.
Hathaway credited many people with helping him regain his life, including the dentist who returned his smile. “I can actually eat food, real food.”
Many friends also encouraged him, but at the top of this list: his mother who never gave up hope.
“What else can I say? She’s my mother. Mothers are always there,” Hathaway said.
The rest of his family was also able to let go of the past to welcome him with a lot of love.
“There’s always forgiveness. You just have to find a way to receive it,” Hathaway said.
Since he has been home, Hathaway has apologized a lot and has begun to heal many of his relationships, including that of his son. “I’ve been trying to make up for it. He spends as much time as I can with him. He used to be Korey. Now I’m a father.”
Hansen said his friend has returned to the person he would trust with his life. “I’ve seen him go from living right here on the sidewalk to living at home, and you can see how amazing and changed he is,” he said.
Hathaway said there are other reasons, besides addiction, that lead to homelessness. “Everyone has their own story. What made a big difference was that people would stop and talk to me and acknowledge that I was human,” he said.
Hansen and Hathaway wanted to do something special to return and thank all the people who helped them during their trip. They partnered with Madsen to produce a radio program based on their story. You can listen to the program here.