LYNN — It’s been a long road paved with homelessness, hunger and tragedy, but School Committeeman Brian Castellanos finally has a place to call home.
“I haven’t had a home since I was 14 years old,” said Castellanos, who closed on his Western Avenue condominium on Dec. 13. “I’ve been trapped in poverty for some time now. I was a kid who wasn’t projected to be here today, especially to own a home.”
Castellanos, 29, spoke to The Item less than a week after he moved into his new home, and it was clear the concept had not quite sunk in yet.
I tell people, “I’m going home,” said Castellanos, explaining that he still couldn’t believe the words. For instance, at the time of the interview, he was in the midst of buying his first bed in 15 years.
“It was so hard for me,” said Castellanos. “I’m talking to kids who were homeless. They’re saying you don’t understand, but I do. I felt the wrath in my soul. I can’t even believe it. I’m just so happy. It’s like a nightmare that’s finally over.”
To the average person, Castellanos may appear to be the picture of success. He will be sworn into his second term on the Lynn School Committee next week and has a successful career as a social worker with the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families.
He’s also educated. He has a Bachelor’s degree from Framingham State University, where he played football, and a Master’s degree from Salem State University.
But that perception is much different from reality, said Castellanos. He’s been working three jobs and his most stable living situation since his stepmother abandoned his family when he was 13 has been when he was living in the dorms during his undergraduate studies. Even then, he’d have to rely on others to take him in during the summer and winter breaks.
After his mother left, Castellanos said his father did not have enough money to get his own apartment, so the pair were taken in by family for a few years. Castellanos became an unaccompanied, homeless youth at 17 years old after his brother died from an illness.
Since then, he said he’s dealt with serious housing insecurity, which included bouncing around friends’ houses and “couch surfing.” For the past two years that he’s been in office, he’s been sleeping on the couch in someone else’s apartment.
He credits that family, the Robinsons, for allowing him to build his credit and save up enough money to buy his first home. Otherwise, paying market rent would have “taken him out,” he said.
“I’m a social worker,” said Castellanos. “I work three jobs. I don’t make money like that, so I had to really buckle down. I sacrificed comfort for a better tomorrow, which happened on Dec. 13 when I closed.”
But it’s not just one family he credits. It’s taken a village of people, he said, rattling off a list of everyone who helped him in the home ownership process. The list gets even longer when he starts thanking everyone who has supported him over the last 15 years.
“It really wasn’t a win for me,” said Castellanos. “It was a win for the city and all the underdogs and the people out there who really don’t have much to start off with. Hard work does pay off and you can have your dreams, especially if you’re willing to work for it and never give up.”
What was crucial in that process was the “First Time Homebuyer” classes he took through Lynn Housing Authority & Neighborhood Development (LHAND), which Castellanos called a “dream program.” There, he learned the steps he needed to take to purchase his first home.
He was also able to take advantage of LHAND’s $7,500 closing cost assistance loan, which he needed to use as a down payment on his two-bedroom condo.
He credits Charlie Gaeta, LHAND executive director, former School Committee member Patricia Capano, and Salem Five Bank for helping him in the financial process; his two attorneys, state Rep. Daniel Cahill (D-Lynn) and AJ Capano for helping him close on the sale; his real estate agent, Toni Lynch, of Toner Real Estate, for helping him secure the home, and Patrick McGrath, who developed the condominium complex.
Also significant, Castellanos said, was the support of his girlfriend, Danielle Sonia, who is living with him in their new home. That support was much needed, he said, as it was a very stressful process.
Castellanos was supposed to close on his condo in September, but was mired in student loan debt from college, which had to be paid off first. The debt was from his dorm room costs, he said, noting the irony of how his only consistent living situation since childhood almost prevented his current one.
But he said those 15 years of struggle made closing on his “forever home” one of the most meaningful experiences of his life.
“I proved a lot of people wrong,” said Castellanos. “I proved society wrong. I never imagined my life ending up the way it is. I worked so hard for it. I spent the last decade investing in my education and in my career and dedicating myself to public service and just giving.
“I’ve given so much and to finally get this reward in my life, it really was closure for me. It was really the ending of a chapter of housing insecurities and instability and the lack of not knowing what tomorrow was going to bring. And now I have a safe place to rest my head. It’s something I’m never going to forget.”
