Day 5: Juan Perez

At the beginning of the week I had a conversation about homelessness with a co-worker. She shared how excited she was to hand out the winter care bags she recently put together and stashed in her car. This conversation reminded me of something I had heard third-hand, not long ago. It went something along the lines of many people who find themselves homeless, don't really know where to go for help and resources. 

This was a pretty profound insight for me to learn. If I were to become homeless at this moment in time, I wouldn't know where to go to get help. 

Yes, I could go to a hospital, police station or fire house and receive assistance getting to a shelter. But in terms of long-term, get-me-functioning-to-a-place-where-I'm-back-on-my-feet assistance, I wouldn't know where to start.

Due to this realization, I decided I should try to educate myself on what resources WERE readily available to those who are currently or may become homeless. I came across an organization I can no longer remember the name of and the social security administration. Now, I DID remember that one! (Probably because in my past line of work, a trip to the SSI office was looked upon with dread.)

Tonight, I had the opportunity to find out first-hand how aware some homeless people are about the resources available to them. 

Enter, Juan Perez.

Juan is 62 and has lived on the northside of Chicago all of his life; predominantly in the Lakeview, Roscoe Village, and Lincoln Park neighborhoods. He's a friendly, well-spoken man with a salt & pepper beard and a whole lot of stories. 

I heard about his long history of work in the grocery business, his financial dedication to his 5 children (now, all grown), and the difficulties he has faced with age discrimination when trying to get a job and being over qualified. He's been homeless for the past decade. Take that in - 10 years. And I would have NEVER guessed to look at him.

He is a man who has lived and learned and made mistakes and then course corrected, all the while keeping a positive attitude and his faith in God. 

"When I was 14, I took a kung-fu class. I couldn't do it. After class the teacher came up to me and asked me what my sign was. I'm a Gemini - and I have a twin sister. The teacher told me that's why, because my sign means I'm 'a messenger of God.' I don't know why, but that always stuck with me. And when I talk to people - a lot of times I'll, you know, give 'em a pep talk, and they always say they feel better afterwards."

Job insecurity is what lead to his current living situation. "I had a good job working in a grocery store making $25/hr and then - [whistles] - I was cut. I didn't have a job anymore." There are likely many more details that go into this story, but the overview clearly illustrates this possible circumstance for even the hardest working person. 

However, homelessness it's not solely dependent on the individual. A solid support system has a lot to do with this as well. If it was simply about 'doing the work,' Juan easily could have pulled through. But when you're trying to get the work to do, you need someone else to lean on.  

"I have 5 siblings. They all know about my situation, my parents know. . . . I want to see them, but they're getting old, you know [Covid concern]. And I know my Mom would say 'you need to get yourself together!' Be it pride, family dynamics, or something else, Juan's family wasn't painted to be much in the picture. He was very much walking alone.

Over the years he gained his neighborhood family. "I hang out with a good group of people. We all look out for each other. When you're homeless there's a rule, you don't steal from each other. But not everyone is like that. There are people that will take anything they see.

I have a nickname over here. They call me Chong. You know, like Cheech and Chong? Because I look like Chong. I like it!" he says with a smile, and a hint of pride. "I'm always looking out for people out there. I'm really observant. Like I'll see these yuppies, walking down the sidewalk looking down at their tablets, headphones on. And they have no idea what's going on around them! I tell them, 'go home! Do that once you get there.' There are a lot of predators out there! And it's gotten a lot worse. I've been out here a long time, and it's gotten a lot worse."

I had asked at the start of our conversation if there was anything he needed. He had turned me down. "I'm good, but thank you. And you know, it can be embarrassing. I've got food and later I'm going to go over to 7-11 and pop it in the microwave! And I've got churches I can go to. I know all of the places around here."

Towards the end of the conversation, after he had told me about being able to get a link card mid-2021, I pressed about his knowledge of additional resources. The answer surprised me. 

"I know there are some people that don't know about them. Women definitely need these services. Women shouldn't be on the street. I've been seeing so many more women lately. But men [waves the idea away with is hand] . . . we're men ('we can take it [out here]' was implied). I know I should go, ..but I don't...

But I'm a Gemini, and that's what we do - always changing our minds from one minute to the next."

It was a weird thing to hear, at first. 

Here is someone who is aware of resources available to him, to help him change his current circumstances, and yet he isn't utilizing them. Why?! 

It would be SO EASY to judge this. But, thankfully, personal growth over the past few years had me, instead, flip that very question back on myself. 

Take a second and look at your own life, no matter who you are or what circumstances you find yourself in currently. We all have, or have had, things we want to do/achieve, goals, dreams, basic needs. At some point, we've thought about these things and how it would be so nice to have them. And yet, a large majority of us haven't taken any steps towards moving ourselves closer to reaching them. 

If something is really important to us, we will do whatever it takes to get it.  

BUT, in order for that to happen, we must first take on the obstacles inside ourselves that hold us back.