Jimmy’s Journey
The sun dipped below Marietta Street on the horizon. Jimmy stood up from his bench in front of the social security building and limped away. Some nights he would wind up in a crummy shelter; others he just wandered the streets. This was a typical night for Jimmy, who had been homeless since his landlord kicked him out eight months ago due to personal differences.
Jimmy has been coming to MAC for about two years. Since he had started living on the street, he had been physically deteriorating. Homelessness is a grinding, exhausting existence and we could see the effects first hand on Jimmy as he stumbled past MAC’s windows. He was a 63 year old Navy veteran but if you’d seen him you would have thought he was 85.
Though the majority of MAC’s direct service money goes toward paying rent and utilities, about 40% of the people who walk through MAC’s doors are homeless and in need of clothing, bus passes, or a snack. Jimmy would come to MAC’s door every day without fail and ask for a snack, occasionally needing a coat or another piece of clothing.
One day, Jimmy rang MAC’s doorbell and asked for his usual snack. But today, his legs were especially swollen with sores and his health was clearly deteriorating quickly from being on the streets.
It was pretty obvious that he needed medical attention and housing. He needed to get off the street.
At first, Jimmy was rough and hard to talk to. He would almost bark when he came to the door and was very reserved. Over time, he became more talkative and MAC staff learned more about his frustrations and fears. MAC tried to connect Jimmy to a nonprofit that could help him get into housing, but with no luck.
After almost a year on the streets, Jimmy started working with a case manager at a nearby housing organization. MAC did not see Jimmy for some time, thinking the worst. Jimmy once told a MAC staff member, “Sometimes, I intentionally get arrested or go to the hospital. It’s better than sleeping on the streets. At least they’ve got a bed where I can prop up my feet and legs and keep them dry.”
Then one day, MAC’s doorbell rang and there stood Jimmy looking almost unrecognizable. His beard was shaved, he was standing upright, and he had almost a twinkle in his eye. “I moved into a place,” Jimmy said proudly. He had been connected to subsidized housing, where he pays 30% of his income. He now can afford his medicine with the remainder of his check and has a safe place to keep it.
MAC staff spoke to the case manager that helped Jimmy move into housing. She said that Jimmy had gotten extensive medical treatment which contributed to a great improvement in both his physical and emotional well-being. She went on to say, “I’m not his case worker any more. He’s doing so well.
He doesn’t need me anymore. His legs have healed and he’s got his own apartment.”
Jimmy comes by MAC every couple months to say hello and catch up with the staff. He says his new apartment is “mighty fine and even has a swimming pool” and the only thing that would make it better is a radio. He said his favorite things to read are medical books and that in another life he might have been a doctor. “My eighth grade teacher always encouraged me to pursue my interest in science,” Jimmy said. “Maybe now, I’ll get a chance to do just that.”
They say people get stuck in their ways, sometimes even if it is a rut. Clearly, Jimmy had become a creature of his own rut on the street and after a while fatigue and confusion prevented him from getting the help he needed. At one point, we thought he had forgotten how to live with a roof over his head, but if he had forgotten something eventually clicked and he expressed his pleasure over sleeping in a soft bed with a roof over his head once again.