Hollywood man finds housing through community court program after years on the street

After years of living on the streets of Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood, a South Florida man now proudly shows off his own apartment, thanks to a court program designed to connect people with services instead of punishing them.

Until March, Michael Neal was living outside, often near Young Circle in Hollywood.

"There was a time when the streets were pretty much, pretty much beat me up, pretty good," he said.

While in Hollywood, Neal received two citations. Those tickets turned out to be the beginning of a new path.

"Every day I wake up and look at my situation, say, 'Thank God, thank God, people were there to lend a helping hand,'" Neal said.

The citations led him to community court, a program that offers people with low-level offenses access to services that can change their lives.

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