Zine 23 · Volume 2, Issue 4 – Speak Up Magazine

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Volume 2 | Issue 4 | $2.00 DONATION

TRAVERSE CITY’S VOICE OF THE HOMELESS

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“Speak Up for those who cannot speak for
themselves, for the rights of
all who are destitute.”
Proverbs 31:8

More than a Magazine

Speak Up Magazine is a 501(c)3 non-profit Volunteers and interns are welcomed for
that gives voice to and offers an income creative areas, such as photography, editing,
opportunity for homeless and vulnerably- teaching, production and design, as well as
housed people. They become micro- fundraising, social services and more. Please
business owners who buy copies of Speak contact us to help out.
Up for a low price and resell them, keeping
all the cash and earning a profit. Speak Up is a member of the
International Network of Street Papers,
As a result, these enterprising street vendors which connects and supports over 100
learn to manage their resources, grow their such organizations worldwide.
businesses and change their lives with
dignity.

This Zine Team Contact

EDITING AND WRITING CLINICS CHARLOTTE OFFICE
Peggi Knowe, Matt Shaw, Ben Shaw, Robb 704-980-9885
Astor, Melissa Sprenkle, Bill Shaw, Mary office@speakupmag.org
Pierce, Mickey Grooters, Debbi Shaw, 1551 S Mint St, Suite B
Leah Burnett Charlotte, NC 28203

VISUALS TRAVERSE CITY CHAPTER
Layout, Matt Shaw speakuptc.com
Photos & Illustrations, Debbi Shaw billshaw@speakupmag.org

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VENDOR
PROGRAM

Frequently
Asked
Questions

What is a Speak Up vendor?

“Vendor” is the title for the hard-working individuals who distribute Speak Up. Most likely,
they are experiencing homelessness or are vulnerably housed. Your purchase of this magazine
is part of their journey out of poverty. You can learn more at speakupmag.org/vendors.
How does someone become a vendor?

1. Sign up for & come to an interview
3. Attend the training day
4. Sign the Code of Conduct
5. Get 20 free Zines and temporary badge
6. Reinvest and attend weekly meetings
Look for a valid Speak Up badge
What if I give money but don’t take the magazine?

Always take the magazine. This individual is working hard, please don’t make them take a
hand out. Feel free to tip, but always take the product. This gives dignity, not just money.

But I don’t have any cash!

A few smartphone-equipped vendors can accept a credit card payment. For now, the best
option is to plan ahead and bring cash.
How can I help?
Here’s one way: Be a friend to the person that sells the magazine. Sit down with them for coffee,
buy them lunch, get to know them. Keep it simple. Healthy and encouraging relationships are
crucial as people build new community and grow in opportunity and perspective.

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[LETTER]
FROM MANILA TO MICHIGAN

By Bill Shaw in Traverse City, MI

I took a drive recently in Northern Lower community of people who live in cars,
Michigan. It was a rural area, hilly and hovels, trailers, and such as that. As I
sparsely wooded. The sky was grey and the drove, I looked anticipating a glimpse
earth white and brown. A March snow had of the dangerous poor, as this clan is
fallen, and the pastures looked less like fields presumed to be.
and more like tundra, with tufts of wintered In Manila, Philippines, we found
grass strewn like brown weeds. I drove up beauty in the poor. It wasn’t hard. We just
over the Hogsback, a steep, slippery pitch of had to be there. For Manila is young–the
a road that is a treacherous ride down and a poor are children, or young adults, who
daunting ride up, at least on a bicycle. could be children. They are not like the
I took a left on Lewis Road, the home of tundra of this Michigan morning that
the family with nineteen children, whose wave in tufts of brown loneliness. They
names all started with L—Larry, Lam, are like the grass when the snow is gone,
Lucy, … I crept through Pleasant Valley, sprouting, fresh and innumerable. Life
passed the old abandoned general store bubbles from their infancy, floats up and
where, as a boy, I had walked barefoot out into the sunshine with energy, and
on the dusty gravel road from my Uncle’s they are oblivious that those bubbles,
cabin on Scott’s Lake to buy a soda. I spilling out, will be gone in a few short
turned left on Skinkle Road, just before years.
the Baptist church, where a half dozen Skinkle Road turns from pavement
cars gathered on a Saturday morning. to gravel and eventually becomes an
Skinkle Road is not well known, even unmaintained dirt road. I looked for signs
in the area, but it is home to a notorious of poverty, and I looked for High Street.

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[CONTENTS]

6 Q & A WTIH RYAN HANNON Bill Shaw
8 BOXES IN BOXES Randy Parcher
9 THE BATTLE TO GET OFF THE STREETS Laurie Koelsch
10 STIGMA Sharon
14 TENT CITY Bill Shaw
15 DEJA VU Steve Thompson
16 SPRING Fred Corfet
17 THANK YOU Laurie Koelsch
18 FROM THE STREETS OF RUSSIA Arkady Tyurin
20 I’M NOT BITTER, I’M BETTER Ava Roseboro
22 ADDRESSING MY ADDRESS Randy Parcher

I am here for High Street, a two track off of our lives, to walk in the Michigan
Skinkle Road. It really is High Street. A tundra, and who knows what we will find
sign nailed to a tree tells me so. I take it beneath the snow.
very slowly. It is one-lane trail. On either Returning from Skinkle Road,
side of High Street are the rusty remnants meandering the maze of Michigan back
of broken vehicles and rubbish. High roads, I wonder who they are. Who are
Street ends in the back end of an old GMC the people of High Street? I did not see
pickup with a bumper that hangs like any bubbles, only smoke, which is not
rapper’s jeans, low and irreverent. the same. I only observed. No words
From the trailers, scattered here and exchanged, no eye contact, no handshake.
there, smoke rises. A guard dog lunges What am I missing?
from a chain, near my car window. I see no Speak Up Michigan is published to
one. A bare porch light in a lean-to burns, help know that which we cannot see,
though daylight has been around for yet we need to know. Michigan has no
hours. There is no place to turn around. thousand people squats where poverty is
I back out slowly, unwilling to disturb the massed and visual. Yet we have among us
occupants, shuttered behind old doors a population who are desperate, lonely,
and ragged lined windows. scared, and invisible. It is a growing
Unlike Manila, you have to look for population. Is there beauty there? We
poor people in Michigan. They are here of think so. We hope to share it.
course, in places like High Street or under
bridges, or in tents off Lafrainer Road. It Bill Shaw is on Speak Up’s Board of Directors
takes an effort to divert from the comfort

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[COVER INTERVIEW]
TALKING WITH RYAN HANNON

Interview by Bill Shaw in Traverse City, MI

RYAN, YOU AREN'T HOMELESS. homelessness on the streets don’t want to
WHAT IS YOUR CONNECTION WITH be there. They would get off the streets if
HOMELESSNESS? they could, so we begin there. As long as
I am the Street Outreach Coordinator for a person is alive, there is still hope.
Goodwill Northern Michigan. In Street
Outreach, we bring resources to end I HEARD YOU EXPERIENCED
homelessness directly to the street. We HOMELESSNESS AT ONE TIME?
meet people where they are, both literally HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?
and figuratively. Most people I serve on I have experienced homelessness a few
the street don’t access assistance in the of times in my life. As a teenager and
way that it is traditionally delivered. This once as a young adult. As a teenager, my
isn’t to suggest that people experiencing life choices were not conducive with my
homelessness want to be homeless, mother’s household. Living there did not
as the misconception goes; rather, we work. I spent some time on the streets
must take a person-centered approach and couch surfed. I also stayed in a
to providing services. Street Outreach friend’s camper during the winter. There
is about assisting people in accessing was no Safe Harbor back then. I also
pathways out of homelessness that are experienced homelessness as a young
right for them. Everyone is different with adult. It was difficult to find an affordable
different needs. Street Outreach is also place to rent. I spent time sleeping in my
advocating for change in the way services car, camping, and couch surfing during
are delivered. People experiencing this time.

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WHAT DID YOU LEARN ABOUT the wonderful program at Habitat for
YOURSELF AND SOCIETY WHILE Humanity.
EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS?
What I learned while is that homelessness WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE SINGLE
can happen to anybody. I didn’t think, MOST EFFECTIVE SOLUTION TO
“How did this happen?” I was still me. END HOMELESSNESS?
I just didn’t have a place to live. It was The bottom line is housing. Homelessness
more of a focus on trying to get ahead. I is a complex problem. No one agency
worked during most of my experience of or entity can end it alone. Ending
homelessness, but it is very hard to obtain homelessness takes a village. The service
affordable housing. While experiencing providers and the community need to
homelessness, I experienced the work together on the solution. Some
goodness of God. I never felt abandoned people end their own homelessness.
by Him. Society didn’t recognize that I or Some people use a little assistance,
the people around me were experiencing and some people need assistance with
homelessness. The people I knew were obtaining and retaining housing.
empathetic and helped out when they Housing coupled with the right supports
could. can help even the people with the most
vulnerabilities end their homelessness.
IN THIS ISSUE, ONE OF OUR SPEAK Street Outreach, shelters, housing
UP VENDORS LIVES IN A TENT. HE support programs, and community-
WAS BADLY BEATEN RECENTLY. based services working together with
HOW CAN OUR COMMUNITY a person-centered approach has been
PROTECT THESE VULNERABLE proven to work.
PEOPLE?
The only way a person is guaranteed HOW CAN OUR COMMUNITY BEST
safety is if they have a door that they can HELP?
lock. Living out of doors leaves people at There are a number of ways our
the mercy of the elements and the people community can help. Speaking against
they come into contact with. Violence is stereotypes is a powerful way to begin.
perpetrated by both people experiencing People experiencing homelessness have
homelessness as well as people who are enough to battle with as it is. Dealing
not experiencing homelessness. There with unnecessary stigma and the
is legislation being proposed to include discrimination that brings shouldn’t be
crimes against people experiencing part of it. Our community can also help
homelessness to be included as a hate by supporting ways to increase low-
crime, which increases penalties. There income and affordable housing options.
are people who throw things, including You can do this by expressing support of
rocks, at people and attack them when practices and policies that promote the
they are sleeping under bridges and inclusion of affordable housing options at
under bushes right here in Traverse City. the local level. There is a lot of growth in
the area right now, and affordable living
WHAT DOES YOUR LIFE LOOK LIKE needs to be a part of it. Volunteering
TODAY? and donating to homelessness services
Today I am blessed to be able to serve is another way to help. It can change
the people who are experiencing your perspective too. Our community
homelessness on the street. The people can help by remembering that part
I serve are some of the hardest working of our community is experiencing
people I know. It takes a lot of time and homelessness. A smile can go a long way.
energy surviving in homelessness. I am
also blessed with a wonderful family and Ryan is a member of Speak Up’s Volunteer
am able to say that I am a homeowner, Advisory Board
thanks to the opportunity through

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[MOVING DAY]
BOXES IN BOXES

By Randy Parcher in Traverse City, MI

Shaw
Debbi
by
Illustration

When thinking of those who are
experiencing homelessness, many think of
park benches or cardboard boxes, spending
their time on one or the other. Furthermore,
many of us get put in a box all our lives from
childhood to adulthood. But if we stop and
think about it, we all have our own boxes
that we have to experience every day. We
all have boxes of some kind that we must
fight to get out of every day for these boxes
influence how we see ourselves.
Some have the box of trying to be a
good parent while trying to instill good
values in their children and still make a
living. Some have the box of working at
a job that does not allow them to afford a
place to live or get ahead. Some have the
box of falling health to deal with…a box of
sickness, if you will.
Some fight the box of living upon the
street, and some just give up. Some say
things will never change, so why try? But
life is all about change. I was a child, then
a father, worker and homeowner. Now I’m
called a writer, artist, something outside
the box, but still in a box of homelessness
and changing health.
For change to happen, we must leave
our boxes and think outside of them. I
know from personal experience. I got
outside my box and reinvented myself
as an artist and writer. Two things that I
never dreamed I’d ever do.

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[FIRSTHAND]
THE BATTLE TO GET OFF THE STREETS

By Laurie Koelsch in Traverse City, MI

My soulmate and I have been homeless for These phone interviews with the
more than five years off and on. We are now owners get so hard, we want to say, What
trying to get off the streets after losing our is the point of this? We need these people
jobs, our home, and everything we owned. to have some compassion. Sometimes I
We have lived on the street for five years just want to sit and cry because I am so
this time. So we filled out applications for stressed out from the rejections.
a housing voucher last March and qualified To get a homeless person off the street,
in January. We have filled out applications why do they have a credit check when it
for apartment complexes and are waiting to has been years since any of us were off the
hear when we will be able to move into one. street and we have a housing voucher. It
There are so many barriers in getting doesn’t seem right. We see the owners of
a roof over our heads, such as: being these low-income housing units having
a homeless person who has to pass a them torn down to put up condos that
credit check and requests for a list of past sit empty because nobody in town can
landlords (there weren’t any because it afford to live in them. Yet everyone says,
was five years since we had rented, and Why doesn’t he or she get a place and get
most of the landlords are deceased and off the street? This is why we can’t…there
the places are not for rent any more.) is no affordable housing in one-bedroom
Making phone calls, talking to these apartments for families when their
apartment complexes, finding a one- children are grown up and have homes of
bedroom apartment only to find out they their own.
only have two bedrooms instead of having I get so upset over the housing
many one-bedrooms available. They are situation, I just want to give up but I keep
very hard to find in Traverse City. It is struggling on, keeping my head up, telling
very frustrating being turned down every myself that we will find a place soon, that
time I call and talk to these people. It someone has something out there. Some
makes me not want to call because we get people have houses sitting there empty
so tired of being turned down. So we keep when these people could take the time to
looking on our housing list for the places rent them to people and help the homeless
that take our housing voucher and start all people get off the street.
over again making the calls, filling out the
applications, and start over again waiting
and hoping.

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[POETRY]

STIGMA

By Sharon in Traverse City, MI

According to Webster’s
Seventh “New” Dictionary
From Massachusetts
Nineteen seventy one:

“Stigma
Archaic:
A sear left
By a hot iron
Brand…mark of shame…discredit. A stain.
An identifying mark.”

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Stigma
According to Us
A label…grenade.
We play “hot potato”
Separating limbs…our body…unable to function.

In the grip of our attitudes
Lying in wait.
We are unaware.
Help me say “Yes, I see it. My prejudice. I did that.”
Own it…Suffer…Drop it…Feel vulnerable.

Learn.
The hot iron cools, leave it to rust. Walk away.
We do have a choice.

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[SPECIAL REPORT]
TENT CITY

By Bill Shaw in Traverse City, MI

Steve, a Speak Up vendor, lives in a tent city. cold seeped through the tent bottom. He
Two or three of these tent cities have sprung spread out his bag and found he’d been
up since April 10, 2015, when Safe Harbor given a kid’s bag, the kind with funny
closed. They are not large cities, only 5-10 animals that—as small as he is—barely
tents. Steve’s tent city is just south of Traverse covered his chest and was short of his
City and a few hundred yards off the road. armpits. He didn’t sleep the first night. He
This is his first year of homelessness; and at was cold. The wildlife of the swamp kept
fifty-six years old, he is trying to figure out up a raucous chorus that was new and
how the system works. frightening.
His youth spent as a 1st Class Boy In the morning he walked to town, to
Scout did not prepare him for this type breakfast, to use the bathroom, to cue up
of camping–tension camping, where his for a shower. He wasn’t lucky enough to
companions and the authorities are all get a shower.
dancing on a tightrope, afraid, watchful, Steve didn’t sleep the next night either.
or both. The next night it rained; and his tent, on
When Safe Harbor ended, Steve was the slope, acted like a dam until the walls
given a sleeping bag and a small tent. He let loose and the water poured through
had no idea where to go. One of his new and soaked his juvenile bag. It also soaked
Safe Harbor companions led him to this Steve’s knit cap, sweater, synthetic socks,
particular tent city where an ex-marine and Steve.
had spent the winter months. Steve set up In the morning he walked to town to
his camp, fift y yards from the others. The get breakfast, use the bathroom and cue
ex-marine had a chair—with no bottom— for a shower. He was early. He showered.
and had been using it as a moveable At night Steve built a fire and drank a
latrine. The frozen piles were beginning to little. This became his routine.
thaw, so fift y yards was close enough. On April 20, the tension of the camp
Steve set up his tent on a small slope; spilled over. Booze and excrement do not
nothing was fl at except the swampy seem to mix. Steve does not remember
areas. The ground was ice solid, and the what he said. He is not sure he said

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anything, but he was cold-cocked and The next night he slept at the camp.
kicked. Someone broke his nose and The man who almost killed him saw him
blackened his eyes. His chest looked like on a path. “Hi Steve,” he said, as if nothing
a cardboard box someone had stepped on. had happened. Steve looked at him with
He regained consciousness in the early his right eye. His left eye was swollen shut,
morning. He had crawled to his tent but the corner socket torn. “… Hi,” he said.
does not remember crawling. His sweater In his childhood days, Steve was a
and hat were soaked in blood. His glasses musical prodigy with the Polka Kids.
destroyed. He threw them all away. He played in Leelanau County. He was
“Will you call the police?” One of his a Boy Scout. Everyone had good tents,
tent city companions asked. If so, they merit badges, sleeping bags that fit and
were prepared to move on. They were dehydrated food. Today he is learning,
anxious. Steve did not call the police. He about things like black eyes and laying
did not want to jeopardize his community. low. He is homeless. He sleeps in one of
He was learning the code, a different Michigan’s tent cities. He has nowhere else
code than the Boy Scout code, but not so to go.
different—a duty to other people.

DEJA VU

By Steve Thompson in Traverse City, MI

When I was in construction, I was working brother came to mind, and I called him and
on putting in a new kitchen and bathroom. gave directions. He picked out some items.
Something kind of strong was telling me that We loaded his truck. Before he left, I asked
I had been at this house before. This feeling him why this place felt familiar. He told me
went on for quite some time as this was a big that 10 or 12 years prior, we had worked
job. I got my answer when my boss said if there for a different boss. Come to find out,
I knew somebody who would want some we had put a new roof on the house. Case
old cabinets for free. Instantly my younger solved.

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[SEASONS]
SPRING

By Fred Corfet in Traverse City, MI

Spring! No, really, it actually did arrive. parts that were not generously provided
No more snow. The car somehow made it by the dumpsters.
through another winter with only a few days And this spring is special. It’s my
of risking frostbite on my hands and feet ex-wife’s last chance to make sure I’m
from fixing it in the winter. Time to take on permanently homeless. The foreclosed
some of the deferred maintenance: change home must be vacated by July, and the
the oil, replace the brake pad, and change judge ruled that my ex must sell me her
the power steering pump that made the care share of the house that was paid for, but
smoke like it was on fire for the last year. she’s not complying. The contempt hearing
Hopefully, I’ll also change the ball joints that was postponed until after summer begins,
make my front wheels pop and crack like so the court order is basically useless. So
my broken neck. . . this spring I’ll be losing my home of 15
Time for spring cleaning–meaning years, permanently this time.
there’s good stuff to pick up in alleys and So I better get that car fixed. Whether
dumpsters, and hopefully a chance to or not I can move, it will have to work
make a few bucks needed to buy those car really hard this spring.

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[GRATITUDE]

THANK YOU

By Laurie Koelsch in Traverse City, MI

As we gather around the table for our last In this cold world, these little touches
meal in Safe Harbor, I think back to this of kindness mean more to us than we can
last year, to the friends we have lost and the express. Many give not just their time
friends we have made at Safe Harbor. Some but their loving spirits, sometimes taking
of these friendships have lasted through the away as much as they give.
years and some just in passing. We would like to thank all the pastors
Some volunteers leave a lasting for taking the time to open their doors
impression and some we're just happy to us, and thank the people we don’t see
they are there giving us a warm place to behind the scenes who give us these warm
sleep and a hot meal. There are those who places to sleep and a hot meal to eat. We
give us a listening ear to hear our stories really appreciate all you have done to
about our days. Some of them make sure make this happen.
we have enough warm clothing. If needed, So to all the volunteers who have
they bring us clothing. They take time off enriched our lives, we give a hearty and
their busy schedules and repair zippers on heartfelt thank you and a wish that all
clothing, backpacks or coats. your years are filled with love.

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[INTERNATIONAL VOICES]
RUSSIAN STREET VOICES

Homeless people in St. Petersburg, Russia, face some of the harshest conditions of vendors
worldwide. Street paper, Put Domoi, offers vendors a hand out of poverty, and creative writing
workshops enable vendors to share their stories.

Originally published by Put Domoi. Courtesy of the Street News Service.

That's What

By Arkady Tyurin in St. Petersburg, Russia

That is what I learnt when I lived in a basement on Seventh Line on Basil Island.
That rats can fall down from a ceiling.
That, using matches, one can turn a cigarette filter into a blade that can easily cut
through cardboard.
That even a small piece of cheese every day can prevent your teeth from falling out
because cheese contains calcium.
That one can be dressed however oddly one wishes, but it must be warm and clean.
That it is better not to steal at work, even though the employer bluntly dupes.
That "sodomite" in Azerbaijani is "getveran.”
That one does not have to shave provided he brushes his teeth twice a day.
That it is better to go without than allow yourself too much.
That big wounds are not suitable for disinfection by petrol.
That if you are always the first to unload a lorry, then you don't have to be the last to
finish.
That it is easier to smile when your footwear is clean.
That when loneliness is stronger than any other feeling, you can always talk to your
dog, which you have not got.
That if you really want it, it is possible to leave a basement. •
Arkady Tyurin is formerly homeless and is now the editor and director of the Russian
street paper Put Domoi.

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I’M NOT BITTER, I’M BETTER

By Ava Roseboro in Charlotte, NC

I was born in Atlantic City, NJ, in 1965. I I started out sniffing. Shortly after, I began
spent most of my summers on the beaches to smoke it in my marijuana. After awhile,
and the boardwalk watching all the tourists I felt like I just couldn’t get high enough.
gather, from all around the world, to I was then introduced to crack cocaine,
spend their vacation at the world’s biggest and my life quickly became out of control.
playground. I was molested at the age of My only concern was where and when I
eight up until I was 12 years old when I could get my next hit. I had to think of
began to make the streets my home. ways to get money, and get money fast. I
As early as 11 years of age, I remember tried to convince myself that I was making
my mother having parties and gambling a fair exchange because I was not actually
sessions in our home. I was exposed to a standing on a corner, so I didn’t consider
lot at a young age. We were poor and grew it prostitution, but it was. I was using my
up on a rough side of town known as “Back body to pay for my habit.
Maryland.” My addiction started the first In the summer of 1984, I went to
time I had a taste of alcohol at 11 years old. Philadelphia, with some people I met on
The first time I smoked marijuana, I was the boardwalk in Atlantic City, to a house
12 years old. I started smoking cigarettes party. The drugs and alcohol were flowing
when I was 13 years old. freely. I over-indulged and experienced
In 1982, I had my first taste of cocaine. my first blackout. I knew it was the grace

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of God that led me back to NJ safely. sent to Edna Mahan, the only women’s
However, I still did not stop using drugs. prison in NJ. Prison life was worse than
The day I overdosed was so clear to me. the streets, but since I had to be there, I
It was a cold and rainy night in October made the most of it by applying myself
1985. I had no money, no job, and no to the many free programs they had to
place to call home. So I did what I knew offer: NA, AA, behavior modification,
best—hustled until I could raise the funds anger management classes, one-on-one
needed to get high. It was a horrible cycle counseling, GED. I even signed up for the
of drugs and despair. I found myself in a Scared Straight program to warn young
part of Atlantic City known as the Inlet. girls about the dangers of a life of crime
I hooked up with a couple of guys and and prison.
experienced my first love for pills. It wasn’t until the Amer-I-Can program
I thought for sure that barbiturates founder and CEO, Jim Brown (former
and Valium could erase all the pain from NFL Hall of Fame and actor), came to the
my past–the constant voices in my head, prison that I began to see the hand of God
the abandonment issues, the abuse, the upon my life. I got saved on November 1,
loneliness I often felt, and worst of all, the 1993. It was the best decision God allowed
emptiness. I didn’t know then, but I know me to make. Four years after I gave my life
now, that I had a void that only God could to Christ, I was raped and forced to have
fill. After a night of drinking, drugging, an abortion behind bars.
not eating or sleeping, it finally took a Since then, I have learned the power of
toll on my body. I had overdosed. When forgiveness. Just as Christ my Savior has
I came to myself, I was laying in Atlantic forgiven me, I had to forgive others. Not
City Medical Center with tubes in all my an easy task, but possible when the love of
veins and feeling the echo of death. I had God is rooted deep in my heart. To sum it
no hope and no real sense of who I was or up, I have been molested, addicted, battled
what my purpose was in life. substance abuse, overdosed, placed in
After my stay in the medical center, I a psychiatric hospital, abused by ex-
was taken to Acorn Psychiatric Hospital. boyfriends, abandoned by loved ones, lost
Until this day, I still don’t know how I my children to the state, been homeless
got there or how long I stayed. When and in prison. I can truly say that I’m not
I was released, I went back home to the bitter. I’m better. To God be all the glory.
same life of depression, hopelessness and He has allowed me to be an over-comer.
despair, so the cycle continued. My past is not my potential.
On May 7, 1989, I was sentenced to My future is so bright, I gotta wear
30 years to life for murder. I took the shades. Praise be to God who always
plea and ended up with the lesser charge causes me to triumph.
of involuntary manslaughter. I was

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[REAL ESTATE]
ADDRESSING MY ADDRESS

By Randy Parcher in Traverse City, MI

We have seen a change in how the homeless and think about when you were looking
are seen here in Traverse City–going from for work, spending your day putting in
ghosts upon the streets, then monsters app after app until someone gave you an
instilling fear wherever they appear, to finally opening to prove yourself. First, you must
being seen as people with shortcomings and get through the door before you can prove
faults just like anyone else. Still, we see that yourself. You must address the matter of
we must address the question of my address. your address.
We hear people say, “Why don’t they get How do we make living on the street
a job? How can they live that way?” Stop into something that won’t harm our

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chances of getting a job? How do we get us must address my address.
away from the fact that we live on a park Even if we get in the door and work
bench or under one of the bridges in hard, we may not get off the street. We
town? We may spend time in Safe Harbor may find ourselves under-employed and
or at Goodwill. Our address may be one still not be able to get a place to call home,
of the outreach programs or, as in the but at least we have hope for change. We
case of some of the women, a safe house, may still have to address my address, but
where they are trying to get away from an now with a little hope for salvation.
abusive and dangerous home life. Each of

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