Floyd Davis started with the cards stacked against him. At an early age, he was exposed to drugs, alcohol, and violent abuse. Davis was born and raised in New Orleans in a household with a loving mother, but an abusive father. At the age of six, his father got upset and pulled a gun on him. His mom stepped in between Floyd and the gun, and his dad fired a shot, which narrowly missed his mother’s head. Davis saw it all. He never wanted to be like his dad but later found himself falling into the same patterns with his own son by drinking and being abusive. Then one day, as he was pulling out a stick to whip his son, he broke down and said: “I don’t want to be like this,” he then grabbed his son and hugged him, “I’m not going to be like that” he told himself.
As much as he tried, Davis could not stop abusing drugs and alcohol. The Impression his dad had on his life was too strong to ignore. Davis believed that he would never escape a life of drugs, alcohol, and abuse. Because of that, he felt like there was never going to be closure in his life. Although he tried to live on the straight and narrow, he soon found himself in Skid Row, where he was using daily. But that fire always burned within him to become a better man. Davis, who describes himself as a “go-getter and a man who wanted to change his life,” brought himself to The Midnight Mission (TMM) in July of 2018 looking for a new start.
Davis had a lot of built-up anger festering inside of him. The first few months at The Midnight were hard and he was rebellious and acted out. A fellow Skid Row friend didn’t think The Midnight Mission was for Davis. She tried to convince him to go back to the streets and continue using drugs and alcohol. It would have been the easy thing to do. But despite how he was acting out, the desire to be a better man never left Davis’ thoughts. He told his friend he was going to stay at The Midnight Mission and continue to work on himself.
There were many times when Davis wanted to quit and leave, but a picture of a bearded man who asked him for a dollar reminded him of what he didn’t want to be. He thought to himself, “I remembered a man I had seen, that had asked me for a dollar on the street, and something came clear to me that day. If you don’t stop doing what you are doing, you’re going to be just like that man, nothing. They’re just going to put dirt over you, and that’s it. And I said I never want to be like that man. I think seeing that man is what keeps me focused. I think God showed me that man for a reason.”
Davis worked hard and has been able to find success at The Midnight Mission. He passed the resume class with flying colors. Since then, he has found a job as a dishwasher and has helped eight other TMM participants gain employment. He takes great pride in being of service to others. He says his job and his boss, who gave him a chance, keep him going. In fact, his boss would like Davis to someday go to culinary school. Davis has also joined the 1201 Alumni Association after successfully completing the program. The week of Thanksgiving, Davis moved into his first new apartment.
As Davis leaves The Midnight Mission and embarks upon his new journey, he hopes to be remembered as a decent person. “I want to make a change. I may not have much, but I want to make a change.” Davis knows it won’t be easy and some days will be harder than others. But, as Davis likes to say, “good is always going to outdo the evil. Evil can not win!”