Hi, I'm William Peiffer, the founder and president of Shared Living Solutions, Inc., a 501(c)3 Non-Profit organization dedicated to making a difference in the lives of others.

I hail from rural Southeastern Pennsylvania, where I was raised by my single mother alongside my older sister. At the tender age of 12, life took a drastic turn when my mother was diagnosed with cancer. Tragically, she passed away when I was just 15 years old, leaving me and my sister without parental guidance or support.

With nowhere else to turn, I found refuge in a small room attached to the restaurant where I had been working as a dishwasher since the age of 12. Located adjacent to a US military base, I was exposed to a world far beyond my own, mingling with young soldiers preparing for deployment to Vietnam. It was during this time that I was introduced to the allure of drugs and alcohol, setting me on a dangerous path of addiction and despair.

By the age of 18, I was entrenched in a cycle of addiction, barely weighing 100 pounds and surviving by selling drugs to sustain my habit. Homelessness became a familiar companion, with fleeting moments of shelter provided by my sister's basement floor.

In 1978, the consequences of my actions caught up with me, and I found myself facing a 12-month sentence in Lebanon County jail for drug-related offenses. It was within the confines of that jail cell that I experienced a pivotal moment of clarity. Attending AA and NA meetings, I began to recognize the precariousness of my situation and the potential for a different path forward.

Fortuitously, an opportunity presented itself when a fellow attendee offered me a job at the factory where he worked. Through sheer determination and perseverance, I secured work release from jail and embarked on a journey of redemption and self-discovery.

Upon my release, I sought refuge in a halfway house called New Beginnings, where I obtained my GED and honed my leadership skills. Rapidly ascending the ranks, I soon found myself in positions of management and responsibility, culminating in offers to oversee operations at factories in Minnesota and later the Chicago area.

In 1992, I made the decision to transition into entrepreneurship, partnering with two brothers to purchase and manage a factory in Chicago. Through hard work and dedication, I eventually acquired sole ownership of the business, achieving annual sales of $3 million and employing a workforce of 60 individuals.

Retirement beckoned in 2006, affording me the opportunity to explore new ventures alongside my wife in the realm of real estate. Together, we buy, fix, and flip homes, leveraging our combined expertise to create positive change in our community by providing entry level homes.

I share my story not as a testament to my own achievements, but as a testament to the power of resilience, determination, and the unwavering belief in the possibility of a better tomorrow. No matter the adversity we face or the mistakes we've made, we all possess the capacity for transformation and renewal. It is through commitment to ourselves and our dreams that we can rewrite the narrative of our lives and pave the way for a brighter future.

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