Dear God, thank you so much for the opportunity to stay at the Salvation Army. As you know, I’ve slept outside on several occasions and I’ve gone without food. These are inconveniences. Worse than going without creature comforts is going without human company. Please bless the people who stay at, manage, and support shelters like the Salvation Army.
I’ve been homeless since January, 2008. Since then, I’ve tried to join the U.S. Army, I went crazy and spent time as a guest of State doctors, I stayed in the Salvation Army shelter in Tulsa, and I slept under a bridge. Danielle, Alan, and Stephanie have all helped me stay alive — thanks!
Now I’m staying at the Salvation Army Lodge in Shawnee, Oklahoma.
Here’s a partial roster of people I’ve met (the names have been changed):
Michael (me): 41-year-old weirdo, computer enthusiast, and Twitter celebrity.
Dan: 52-year-old Canadian national who has been living in the US for many years. He’s a house painter by trade but has held all sorts of jobs from pool cleaner to truck driver. Brad has also been a surfer and kayak guy. He practically invented the sport of kayak surfing in Southern California. Dan has been all over the world. He’s lived in Australia and around Europe. Dan has an ecclectic taste in music and recently started sacking groceries at a local store. I’ve suggested that Dan start a blog because his stories are quite interesting. Dan is like a big brother.
George: 52-year-old Oklahoman who has spent his life either working on a farm, in fast food places, or in grocery stores. George used to have a taste for the alcohol and drugs. It turns out that he and I went to the same Motley Crue / Whitesnake concert in 1987 in Tulsa. George is working cleaning the meat department at a local grocery store. He has a car. George enjoys complaining about the disrespect and rudeness of the younger guys. George is happiest when in control of the TV remote and becomes loudly peeved if someone else in control keeps changing the channel. George has fast hands. He killed a fly the other day without using a weapon.
Yippy: 38-year-old recovering addict and soon to be father. Covered in tattoos, Yippy is so named because he recently went through a spell of entertaining us with his impressions of small, yippy dogs. He was asked to stop it by the shelter management. We weren’t entirely dissappointed. He also likes to say “See what I can do!” like Stewart, the character from Mad TV. Yippy is looking for a job. You can tell Yippy has been through some trouble including some time in jail.
Lana: Yippy’s 23-year-old pregnant girlfriend. Lana hasn’t been very friendly, but she’s due in about a month. In the morning she is usually very sick. I guess cigarettes must help morning sickness, and afternoon sickness, and evening sickness. ‘Nuff said.
Craig: 45-year-old guy who has also lived around the world. His father was in the military. Craig played football for a college in Hawaii. He works at Sonic and rides a bicycle. Recently, Craig was down and said the last ten years had been terrible. I assured him that the next ten were going to be much better. 30 minutes later he was saved (as in born again). Whether you believe in God or not, deciding to give up trying to fix yourself and putting it all in the hands of God (or the Universe, or fate, or The Great Pumpkin) can really make things better. If a person keeps his eyes on the future and trusts things are going to get better, then, at least subconsciously, he will work it out.
Prince Charles: 24-year-old guy who competes for control of the television remote. This drives George crazy (especially because Charles is a channel flipper). George gave Charles the title of “Prince.” Charles was working at the mill last week, but lost his job for showing up late for the second time. Now he has a concrete job somewhere.
Ron: 28-year-old recoverning drug addict who is in town because he was kicked out of a treatment program in another city. He had been in the shelter before and was kicked out because of problems meeting expectations. But, the shelter people are foregiving and you can come back after a time.
Ron and Prince Charles moved into an apartment together last night. When Ron came to get his stuff, he was drunk or high or something. I hope they’ll do alright. When they were walking off, I yelled, “Treat those ladies right!” And Charles yelled back, “Never!” Nice. 🙂
Bob: 48-year-old paranoid schizophrenic who ended up homeless because he went off his medication. He’s now back on it and doing much better. Bob is a really sweet guy. He’s a grandfather and expecting another granddaughter around Christmas. Bob is a Native American and he said stories of spirits and animals played into his illness. He said it was neat at first.
Side note: I experienced two weeks of paranoid schizophrenia when I stopped taking some medication prescribed when doctors thought I had bipolar disorder. Never stop taking a psychotropic drug without consulting your doctor first.
Yankee: 25-year-old Yankees fan. He’s a FAN. He’s fanatical. He already has a jersey ready for this year’s World Series patch. He’s never been to New York, but he behaves like he’s from there. I don’t know if you have experienced people from around that area before, but if you do you might notice they can be a bit abrupt and they do it while they’re in your face. Yankee is a chore nazi. We got into a little argument the other day when he thought I was the last one to use the mop and had not put it away. It turns out Yankee is a nice guy. He has his own history with meth and landed in some trouble with the law. He’s on a 5 year probation where he drug tests weekly. This is a good thing for Yankee. He’s taken several opportunities to reminisce about crystal. I suggested that wasn’t a good thing and he dismissed that advice.
Butch: 57-year-old drifter type. He probably has some bike-gang history. He’s probably also spent some time in a cell block somewhere. He’s a nice guy. He also rides a bicycle. He wears a black leather jacket. He looks very weathered. I’m sure he’s lived in a tent from time to time. He’s an alcoholic, but he’s abstaining while in the shelter.
Frank: 30-year-old guy who is on the outs with his wife. She kicked him out. He’s looking for a job. He has quite a bit of anger, but I’m sure he’ll be fine. On the phone everynight he tells his wife he loves her and the kids.
Micro-K: 21-year-old, 80lb lesbian. Well, she says she’s lesbian, but her hickey was applied by a male. Who knows. She’s actually moved in with a new girlfriend, but I heard there’s trouble and she wants to come back. Micro-K is from Alaska and spent some time living in Florida recently.
There are others, of course, but let’s get on with the day.
During the week, we get up at 6:00am.
At 6:15am, we’re required to be in the dining room for devotion — a short pep talk followed by a prayer. Then we eat something. Sometimes we have biscuits and gravy, but frequently we eat a muffin or something like that. We have cereal, but only occasionally is there milk.
On Saturdays we sometimes have more food. George recently supplied eggs and sausage.
After breakfast, we check the chore list and complete a task. This morning, it was my responsibility to clean up, sweep, and mop the lounge area where there are some couches and the television. Cleaning the bathroom is not as glamorous. The chores are assigned on a rotating basis.
Note, it’s more fun to fill the mop bucket than to empty the mop bucket. I don’t know why.
At 7:30am we go next door and clean the Salvation Army offices.
Then we’re turned out to the wild.
People who don’t have jobs are required to perform 20 hours of community service per week and make at least 15 job searches. Cleaning the offices counts as 3 hours of service (6 days, 30 minutes per day).
I wait around until my storefront office opens at 9:00am. Then I get to work. I usually empty the trashes and sweep the office. It’s the least I can do.
At 6:00pm, people line up outside the shelter for the soup kitchen dinner. Lots of people come to eat — not just the shelter residents.
Sometimes people complain about the food. I try to blow that off, but it seems a little disrespectful and ungrateful. I mean, “fishsticks again” is better than “nothing again.”
By 6:30pm all shelter residents are required to be present to clean up after dinner.
Bob and I usually dry dishes.
Yankee is a dish washing maniac. He’s been a dish washer as restaurants for 12 years. He sprays the sprayer. He recently pissed off George by getting him all wet. Then Yankee was left without a washer. He tried to get us to help, but I reminded him that he pissed off his helper and it wasn’t our responsibility to step into the job. He’s been nicer about washing dishes since, but George hasn’t been back.
As I said, Yankee is actually a nice guy. He just doesn’t really employ his southern manners when he should. Yankee has experienced some job turnover in recent years. I’m sure the combination of his meth habit and his mannerisms was a contributing factor.
At 7:00pm on Monday night, we go to a Christ-centered anger management group.
At the same time on Friday night, we go to the same sort of 12-step program meeting.
Before 9:00pm, we’re required to take a shower.
At 9:00pm, we have devotion in the dining room and a snack.
Lights are to be out by 10:00pm.
On Friday night, we can stay up until 11:00pm and the day on Saturday starts one hour later.
On Sunday morning, we get up at 6:30am. We have devotion and do chores, but we go next door at 9:00am for breakfast before Sunday school and church. All residents are required to attend the Sunday stuff.
On the weekends, you’re normally turned out just like weekdays, but if it’s raining or really cold, they will let us inside. If we’re inside at lunchtime, we can get some food (if available).
A church group usually serves lunch on Sunday afternoon at 2:00pm in the park. They had Coke last time I went out. Apparently, Jesus is a Coke fan like I am. Coolness.
Peace!!
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