Steve Gets a New Home2 min read
share:
This issue is part 3 of a series about my life in Boulder Creek.
The first one is here. The second one is here.
When you make friends with homeless people, you mainly want to see if you can help somehow. And you soon realize that the help that is needed is usually beyond your capabilities.
They need money, shelter, food, medical care. Most have literally no more than the clothes on their backs.
Steve, the man I mentioned last week who lives in his van, is actually in pretty good shape. He receives about $1500 a month from Social Security, and because he is disabled, he has Medicaid, which covers all his medical needs.
As I got to know Steve, I realized that he needed a real friend more than anything else. So, every day, on my walks past Junction Park, I stopped, and we talked.
He’d had quite a life – a good education, great parents, marriage, kids, many different jobs, divorce, and some bad financial decisions. Steve is very smart, has a wicked sense of humor, and doesn’t pity himself.
Steve also loves my two little dogs and gives them treats every time we come by. When he needed his devices to be charged, I took home his battery packs and recharged them for him.
His dog, whom he loved dearly, was not doing well and had just lost the use of his hind limbs.
We had been talking about housing options and the possibility of getting an RV. He certainly didn’t have the money, but we kept kicking around ideas and exploring possibilities.
To make a long story short, we ultimately found a 1984 Toyota Dolphin RV that was not in bad shape. Hardly a palace, but so much better than his dead-in-the-water Dodge van.
A few weeks later, I found myself writing a check for said RV, and he was in possession of a new home. We made an agreement that he’d pay me back (for a portion of the cost), and he’s reliably paid me $100 cash at the first of every month.
That was about seven months ago, and Steve’s quality of life improved considerably. Sadly, his dog passed away a few months later, which was very hard on him.
Steve still parks the RV at Junction Park, but now he has a warm bed and safety and is surrounded by a motley crew of other homeless people who provide company.
This is hardly a fairy tale ending. His son is also homeless, makes money collecting cans, and is strung out on meth. Steve’s health is far from good, and his eyesight is failing him.
Steve is not just a friend but a close friend. We see each other almost every day, laugh about my dogs as they beg for treats, and talk about everything under the sun in his cozy little RV.
Maybe I needed Steve as much as he needed me.
Cheers, Robert
share:
