Profiles of the Homeless (continued)

Between moving and being out of town, it’s been a few months since we’ve been able to make it down to Detroit so we were glad to have the opportunity today.
Once again, the Elevate Ministries team had a successful event with lots of food and volunteers to serve the community.  Cheridy and I joined them to continue our project of interviewing some of the folks down there to learn about them, pray with them, etc.
It’s been a brutal winter and the tough economic times are making things even harder for everyone down here.  Many of the jobs the little side jobs that were available are being snatched up quickly as more and more people are unemployed and desperate for work.
The tough time are affecting everyone young and old.

Today we talked with 3 guys; Tony, Gary, and Eddie.  We have permission to tell some of their story.
Its always a little overwhelming coming to these events.  All of us that come from the suburbs are so out of place here and live a life that is so different even though we’re only 20 minutes away.  After a few months, I still don’t feel like we have a set direction, I don’t know why we’re here or what we’re doing or how we can use these photos and stories to make a difference, but we feel God calling us here and feel that this is what we should be doing right now.

We saw Tony sitting by himself and went and chatted with him for a while.  Tony is 47 and with a felony on his record and a few jail terms, he has no access to a job.  He has a lot of personal struggles that he needs to overcome before he feels like he can turn his life around.  Some of the issues that he’s dealing with are too personal to post here so I’ll leave out the details.  Tony is an example of someone who has always had it hard.  He said that he grew up poor, was always in and out of school and just never had any chances or opportunities in life.  Combining that with some bad decisions, he is now in a very difficult place and frustrated by being middle aged and in the situation that he’s in.  He said that a family member tried to help him and he regrets another bad decision that he made in that situation.
He’s hoping that God will intervene in his life so we’re just praying that he is given the strength to fight off his personal demons and get his life back on the right track.

Later, we approached Gary.  He looked pretty down.  Cheridy is usually pretty good at cheering people up and making people laugh, but Gary wasn’t ready for that.  When we asked him how he was doing he said “just trying to die out here”.  It’s hard to know what to do with that.  Cheridy realized that this was going to be a better one on one conversation so she let me speak with Gary one on one.  His main focus is that he wants to get back to San Bernardino out in California where his ex-wife and grown children are but he needs $90 for a greyhound bus ticket to get out of here.   Gary was really mad at himself and his situation.  There were a lot of tears and many times he buried his face in his hands and cursed out of frustration.
Gary lived in Fraser, MI for about 15 years and worked as an autobody technician.  He said that he has a lot of skills and is really good at what he does but he’s feeling old and the job he did was very taxing on his body and he doesn’t want to do that anymore.  According to him, one of the biggest things holding him back right now is his own lack of motivation.   The interesting part was that he HAS the motivation, he REALLY wants to get back to California, but he’s just fighting with himself and holding himself back and he doesn’t know why.  There’s a lot more going on with Gary and all I could do is sit and pray with him.  By the end of the conversation he seemed to be doing a lot better and said that he was going to try to get himself focused and get out of Detroit within the next couple weeks.  Right now, he’s just really tired of being cold all the time.
I’m also praying that the grass actually IS greener for Gary on the other side of the country and that it’s not just a dream that will lead him to similar or worse conditions.  Right now, getting back out west is his goal and the source of the small amount of hope he still has.

While I was finishing up my conversation with Gary, Cheridy was nearby talking with Eddie.  Eddie is like a beacon of hope in an area that is filled with hardship.
Over the past few months we’ve talked with a lot of people that are in the middle of despair and struggling with a lot of inner battles that are preventing them from turning their lives around.  Eddie on the other hand has already passed through that phase and is on his way out.
Our conversation with Eddie was quick because we were just about to head out to go pick up Mayz, but it was long enough to leave me with a sense of hope for everyone else.  Eddie comes to all the homeless barbeques so we’re looking forward to catching up with him again and learning more about his story.
He told us that through all his struggles, he knew that God was with him and had a bigger purpose for him.  He really felt welcomed when joining United Alliance church and through the church he has received support and prayer that has helped him to change things around.  He now has a job and a direction in life and in our short conversation, he just seemed to be overflowing with joy.