Victor "The Good Boss" Oliveira helps people break the cycle of homelessness and addiction
BOSTON - Victor Oliveira will be the first to tell you that, 12 years ago, he couldn't have imagined what he would be doing now. In 2012, he was released from a Massachusetts state prison after serving a 20-month sentence for dealing drugs. "That's where I had to smarten up," he says matter-of-factly. "I said to myself, 'I'm never going to go back. I'm going to do the right thing. I always liked helping people-my whole life. I think I get it from my mother."
Doing the right thing started with building the landscaping company he founded before he was incarcerated and treating his workers well. "I wanted to show the world that it's great to work for a good boss," he said.
He had fun with them, surprised them with lunches and coffee and worked to create an atmosphere workers enjoyed. He also began shooting short videos of his efforts and posting them as "Victor The Good Boss." With a growing community of followers, he saw the power of social media as a way to make an even bigger impact.
Driving to job sites and estimates in Greater Boston, Victor noticed the groups of people experiencing homelessness. Many held handmade cardboard signs asking for money. At first, he thought he would call their bluff. "Let me just ask them if they want to work and if they actually want to stand there and make money or actually work," he said.
He pulled up to one of the groups in his big GMC pickup (he calls it his office) and asked, "Are you looking for a job?" Most people weren't. Some told him they might be...someday. He had pens made up with his phone number so they could reach him if they wanted to make a change. And then, one day, Kevin-whom he met in Lowell-accepted his offer. Kevin was looking for a job. He was also looking for help to get off the street.
Victor says making that connection was lifechanging, addicting in the best way. "I ended up helping one person and then another person," he said. "I didn't know filming it would be a massive help to what I do. But it is." Victor now has 3.1 million TikTok followers and a track record he's proud of.
He says that he has directly helped 34 people get off the streets and, in some cases, into rehab. He says he is thankful for a partnership with Florida-based Compassion Behavioral Health which offers scholarships for its program.
Victor is also quick to point out that while he films his encounters in his truck alone, there is a huge community supporting him and the people he tries to help. Followers who watch his videos contribute to his non-profit The Good Project, GoFundMe accounts for people in rehab and recovery, and fundraisers like one held recently at Prince Pizza in Saugus. He says that he tries to raise $10,000 per person to cover their expenses for five-to-six months. "When you come out of treatment you have nothing," he explains. "You have no job. No money. What are you going to do? You're going to go back to your old ways most likely. So, I try to give that (funding) worry-free... give them that boost. And at five to six months, I'm not saying they're on their own. But they have their 'big boy pants' on."
Victor says that he is in touch with most of the people who have accepted help-even if they have relapsed. "They all know that I care for them. Every single person that I've helped-even if they're not doing well right now-know that as I care about them. And if they need another chance, I'm here," he said.
On a bright March morning, photographer Terry McNamara and I joined Victor for a drive through the Lowell neighborhood where he met Troy in September. Troy went to rehab in Florida and frequently joins Victor in videos. "Usually someone will stand on this corner here," Victor says pointing out a spot near Eliot Presbyterian Church.
We round the corner, multiple cameras rolling, to find a man standing alone wrapped in a blanket. Victor rolls down the window and asks if he wants a coffee. He explains that he is filming and asks the man if he is comfortable being on camera. The man, who introduces himself as Lamont, tells him it's fine. He accepts a donut and tells Victor that he has been homeless for about three years. He is hoping to be assigned housing later that day.
Feet away, a larger group accepts Victor's trays of coffee and the rest of the donuts. "You guys having a good day?" Victor asks. It is clear that members of this group recognize him and appreciate the visit.
Glory, a woman who joins the group later, sees Victor's truck and shouts his name. He jumps out of the cab, crosses the street, and takes photos with Glory and a friend. She tells him that she watches his TikTok videos and, as someone with friends living on the street, she appreciates what he's doing. "He tries to help the community," she tells us.
Earlier, in the Dunkin line where Victor bought the coffee and donuts, he offered encouragement to an employee working the drive-thru window who told him that she has been in recovery for 18 months. Hayley Williams, a driver several cars ahead, recognized his truck. She was excited to see him in person. She remembers watching Victor help Kevin. "It's cool. I used to see the first kid he ever helped," she said. "It's just nice to see what he's doing going forward now too."
Our day with Victor ended in Brighton where he visited a jobsite with special meaning. One of the workers is 29-year-old Athol native Ryan Kenneway. Victor met him on the street in Lowell in July. That day, when he rolled down the window and asked Ryan if he wanted to work, Ryan said yes but explained that someone had stolen his glasses and his vision "wasn't 100%." Victor says he could tell that Ryan wanted help.
Actually providing that help proved challenging. He bought Ryan a phone that, within days, disappeared. When Victor found Ryan again, Ryan told him that it had been stolen. Ryan agreed to go to rehab and Victor got him a scholarship to a program in North Carolina. The night before they left, Victor arranged a surprise. Ryan's sister, from whom he was estranged, had been looking for him. When she saw him in the TikTok video, she called Victor. They arranged a meeting in the parking lot of the hotel where Victor and Ryan were staying before their flight. Ryan's sister found the prescription for his glasses and, when she and Ryan were finally standing just inches apart (he couldn't see who she was at first), she said hello and put the glasses in his hand. Victor watched. "It was just instant tears. He was so excited. It was such an awesome moment...the reuniting of them," Victor said.
Ryan is proud to share that he has been clean for more than six months. He lives in a sober house in Greater Boston. Victor didn't have much work for him when he returned from North Carolina (Victor's primary business in the winter is plowing snow) so he arranged a job for Ryan with a friend's company. The crew is rehabbing an office space with flood damage. Joking with fellow workers, Ryan says he feels amazing. With 17 years of addiction behind him (he says that his mother "started feeding" him opiates when he was 11) he describes detox and rehab as the hardest thing he has ever been through and worth the challenge. A phone conversation with his 12-year-old son, in Ryan's first month of recovery. "He was like, 'Daddy, you only have one life to live. Please don't ever do this again.'"
Ryan says hearing his son crying on the phone broke his heart. While he knew nothing about TikTok when he met Victor, he is thankful for the support from Victor's followers and is proud to show them that recovery is possible. "I'm motivated. I'm loving life!"
Victor understands the struggle to stop taking drugs and start anew. He dropped out of high school, became addicted to opiates and, by his own account, made bad choices. He says that he has found his calling in helping people-in person and through videos. While the vast majority of the people he encounters on the street don't accept his help, he is buoyed by those who do. He suggests that we all might consider judging less and engaging more with people who are struggling. "Just going out into the community and talking to people and asking them-how can I help you today?"