(dog barking) (calm music) (dog barking) (child cries) - Daddy, daddy, daddy.

I know, I hear you.

(water drains) No, no, no, no!

I gotta get the towel out first.

You're gonna get water everywhere.

(child cries) Mia!

You have a good bath?

- [Gary voiceover] After getting injured at work, I had no income coming in, really, besides, you know, a little bit here and there.

- Come here.

Stand up.

- [Gary voiceover] And not having money is horrible.

I mean, it's not being able to provide for yourself when you need stuff, and your child.

Makes you feel kind of worthless.

I ended up drinking a lot.

I just kind of shut everybody out, didn't talk to anybody.

And I ended up having a falling out with the person who I was living with in a basement apartment I was renting.

The guy started just doing everything he can to try to get under my skin.

So I ended up moving out of there 'cause it was getting to the point to where I honestly felt like if I came there, I was drinking and he said something, I felt like I would have acted on it, maybe violently.

So I reached out to some old friends that I've known for quite a while and I kind of explained everything going on to them: on the verge of being homeless with the kid and without hesitation, they picked me up right away and brought me into their home.

- Give me five.

I'll see you later.

- (laughs) Go ahead and do some more doughnuts, Mike.

(Mike laughs) The first ones were good.

You actually spun the tires.

- I know.

I'm spinning, man.

- [Gary voiceover] I met Mike and Dee in 2013.

I had just come home from prison, and I remember they spent a lot of time with my mom.

They would go over there and have coffee with her every morning.

- There you go.

You can take it out for a cruise.

- [Gary] I'm okay.

Are they good?

(Mike laughs) Come on.

Run, baby, run.

- [Gary voiceover] What they're doing for me right now has definitely made a huge difference from where I was a few months ago to where I am now.

It's more than just them helping me out with getting a job and a place to stay.

I'm surrounded by genuinely good people.

The biggest things they were able to provide was transportation.

So I was able get a job right away.

The company I work for now is called Asphalt Restorations.

I saw an ad on Craigslist and I just stopped in there, and the guy ended up calling me back the next day and offered me the job.

Being in Zion and working at a kitchen, it was miserable, it was horrible.

I felt ashamed, embarrassed.

Having the job that I have now is...

I know it sounds kind of corny or weird, but it makes you feel manly, you know?

Like, you go to work, you bust your ass, you get dirty, you come home, and you feel tired and exhausted, but it's the best feeling.

It makes you feel like you're not a bum.

I feel good.

I'm able to have money in my pocket.

- Two packs of Palmer Red 100's.

- [Gary voiceover] I'm not broke between paychecks.

- Thank you.

- [Gary voiceover] I'm able to go buy my daughter her pull-ups.

I'm able to buy her new outfits.

You know, it feels really good.

- You ready to get some clothes?

No, no.

- I like this one, Daddy.

This is pretty, too.

- That's way too big for you, too, Mia.

Here we go, Mia.

- I like that one, Daddy.

- You want these?

- This one.

- You want this one too?

- Yeah.

- Okay, we'll get both of these.

Come on, this way.

- I'll put it on, Daddy!

- Yeah, you're excited, huh?

(Mia warbles) - [Computer] Please proceed to register 4.

- Hello.

- [Mia] Hi!

- [Cashier] Hi.

- [Mia] Daddy!

- [Gary] Okey-dokey, stinker.

- [Mia] All done, Daddy!

- What?

I don't know.

Can you try it again?

I'll just run it with this.

Dude, I've been having so much problems with this card right now.

- [Cashier] It said "card declined".

- Yeah.

Can you give me just a moment?

Here, hold on.

- [Phone] Your account balance is eight dollars and twenty-five cents.

Your call is being transferred to a customer service representative.

- Okay, I literally just got paid on my card and I've only spent $35, and it's saying I only have $8.25 in there.

Well, no, no, no.

For seventy?

No, I didn't $75 at a gas station.

Can you just decline, or dispute the transaction?

- Yeah, I canceled the whole thing.

- Oh, you've canceled it all?

All right, thank you.

Come on.

Let's go.

They took $75 for each thing that I took at the gas station because I swiped it as credit.

So they gotta hold $75 for each one.

Oh, my God.

I don't know what to do.

- [Gary voiceover] It's really embarrassing.

It made me feel kind of like a parent, not being able to get that for her.

You don't feel too good about yourself, and you don't have the means to be able to do stuff when you want to or when you need to.

- Hey, you guys have seen me at the lowest...

Some of my lowest points, to where, I mean...

Even being suicidal.

You guys saw that firsthand.

- [Dee] I did.

Yeah.

- [Mike] That was scary.

That scared me.

- He tried to commit suicide, Gary did, because like I said, everybody turned against him.

I mean, he's not only a friend.

He's more like a son.

I'm sorry.

He's been through a lot.

Too much.

You know?

His momma's gone.

- [Gary] I love you guys so much.

- We do, too.

- We love you, too.

- And I don't mean to cry, but... People don't understand.

- [Gary voiceover] Having Mike and Dee on my side, helping me the way they are, has definitely lifted me up a whole lot.

(Dee laughs) - Whoa!

Look at you!

- Are you having fun?

- Are you having fun?

Tell Daddy yeah!

(Mia screeches) (calm music) (lawnmower whirs) - [Gary voiceover] I'm so thankful, and so happy that I took their offer and moved up there.

I honestly feel, everything in the past, like getting in trouble, going to prison, and drugs and all that, is sincerely behind me.

- [Gary] No, Smar.

Mia!

- [Gary voiceover] I want her to have this sense of pride in herself, like self-esteem.

- My car!

- [Gary voiceover] I want her to go to school, and I want her to stay in school even if she's gonna hate it.

- No.

No!

- [Gary voiceover] I want her to try everything until she finds out what it is that she loves to do.

- Say, get out of the way!

- [Mia] Get out of the way!

- Say, move, Smar!

- [Mia] Move, Smar!

- [Gary voiceover] I still want a nice car.

I want a house and everything, but... - Mia, drive away, drive away, drive away.

Go, go, go, go!

Drive, drive!

- [Gary voiceover] For me right now, it's focusing on the little stuff.

- You gotta put your hands on the wheel and steer.

- [Gary voiceover] I want to stay working where I'm working, and I want to start saving, little by little, be able to take my kid to school, take her to the doctor, be a dad.

So it's just the little things right now.

(calming cello music)