Thomas Hardy, also known as Cowboy, was homeless his entire life until he was 54 years old. You can purchase your copy of "Cowboy: An American Drifter" HERE.
Cowboy was a drifter from birth, his father moving the family of five children around the United States to find work or escape the law. The family would occasionally come back to Muskegon County, where Cowboy’s maternal and paternal grandmothers lived, to visit. As Cowboy came of age, he continued to live the life he was brought up in, working odd jobs, collecting scrap metal and sleeping in the woods, until his health finally gave in and he had to seek stable housing.
Today, Cowboy puts his life experience and his passion for the homeless and vulnerably housed to use within the community. Cowboy’s on call around the clock working to connect homeless and vulnerably housed individuals to community and much-needed resources. Cowboy first came back to Muskegon to be close to his family in 2013; he began volunteering at Sacred Suds and soon after found permanent housing in the city. Cowboy has lived in Muskegon since 2013, the longest he has ever lived in any one place. - “I will continue working what I do, to help someone out that is in the same position that I grew up in, homelessness,” he says.