CATEGORICALLY HOMELESS

THE TONE OF THE WORD "HOMELESS" and any implication that one may become so wrangles at the insides to a point of cringing fear and dread. It imlies extreme loss of possessions and the security of a roof overhead. It references a new beginning in life as a drifter.

Returning home after a day of work or school to find the door locked against you and a scribbled note that reads in bold letters "EVICTED" bears some explanation which typically does not come immediate to the individual being "let out." That note followed by an insistent tone of voice demanding you "vacate the premises" is the last tie in the noose of the hanged man. Although HOMELESS is defined as any person put into a position that remedies him or her with no home, address, no residence and therefore subject to sleeping in the streets or in reclusive locations, many are put in a limbo condition of that status.

I was evicted from my parent's home. I returned from work to find that note and to find my son standing outside the locked door. The note was seconded by a stern voice on the other side of the door insisting we "get off his property.. out of his driveway." We left without explanation of what the matter was. We left and eventually ended up at my office for the night, for one night. Over the following few nights we stayed in a local hotel with me calling the home number in an attempt at discovering what was the cause for our "eviction." We had relocated from my home state, left my job of eight to ten years and transferred college and high school histories to the new neighborhood AT THE REQUEST OF OUR ASSAILANT. I was asked to relocate to the address to "help" my parent who was floundering with business dealings... records had gone astray and insurance needs had begun to faulter. Over several months, in spite of my own health problems, I managed to cure the accounting records, pull together tax records for submitting two years returns; and draw insurance support offers from two health programs to which one was ascrbed to with fees paid. Although we did not experience street sleeping and bread lines I understand it to be one tragic fall for anyone who slips that far off grid. While I managed to close on one sale and collect my commission for that sale while still drawing income for military compensation for an injury, It was recommended that I prepare for a rough landing... apply for welfare, just in case. That suggestion was demeaning in itself. With five additional sales set to settle within the coming weeks, I applied and attempted to work sales accounts without my client files which were locked inside the house that locked us outside. To complicate matters, I was sent out of state for military training one week before closings of the final sales files. I later discovered that the military orders were tampered with and not intended for me but for another enlisted personnel. Never the less, my commissions were lost to military intervention of mandatory orders issued. A loss of two hundren ten thousand dollars in sales commissions. That said, homeless status took a serious bite out of my family directive. sudden alteration of plans tore the children out of school, which began the first week as I was mandated attendance in the alternate state... Texas. The children were resolved of the homelessness status in that a newly met acquaintance was trusted with temporary guardianship for military purposes until my return from training because the family member slated to perform the temporary guardianship refused on my day of departure. I would have to leave him in that position for one week, then return on leave from duty to pick him up, readmit him to the school he was attending before we came up to rescue the wiles of my parent and pray my children could mentally adjust to the upheaval in both short term and long range life progression. I did the driving for that educational emergency while stoked on medication issued by United States Veteran Affairs... in overdose proportions. The hospital had not corrected the roiginal prescription and the determination was forthcoming from Great Lakes Naval Base Hospital for the determined prognosis of injury sustained. It was still being investigated as to cause and severity of damage to myself and the one other individual in the wreckage. I was later told that I had fractures based upon the xrays and scans of my head; and that the other individual was Dead on Arrival at Loyola Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. Though I was inebriated with prescribed medicines and swollen red in face and head we managed not to be in the streets among the host of other people standing around fifty five gallon drums in the darkness of Detroit ghettos. We did not lay in vacated doorways or salvation Army cot lined stores. We did not dine with others in food lines, soup lines or loaves of bread issuers. The townhouse that awaited our move-in was lost to the urgency of mandatory training in Texas, we had no home months after I returned. We had no home until it occured to me that I had registered to attend on campus classes and that there was an option for on campus housing... family housing. I applied for a campus apartment and paid the application fee from my military wages. I was willing to try my hand at upping a college degree and keeping us out of the street. We moved into the fist apartment available and I registered my child at the referred high school campus.

We sat many days on campus... college campus... wondering why others had not put all options to the test before taking to the streets. Some tell me it is the best level of freedom. No worries, no bills, no unwanted demands from landlords or in some cases employers. It is true freedom.

The homeless have better options available to them if they aspire to improvement. There are programs offering six month rehabilitation from street to employment or education and housing on one level or another. Housing is offered in form of tinyhome communities, shed housing and housing vouchers in well to do communities.One needs only pick up his head and a pen to rejoin the humane race.

We played Tarzan from then on, to make our way through life.