10 GROUNDCOVER NEWS COMMUNITY People in the neighborhood: Josh's Story JIM CLARK Groundcover vendor No. 139 People in the Neighborhood is a Groundcover News column that focuses on the unhoused neighbors of the street community in Washtenaw County. This is Josh’s story. I began the interview by asking Josh to describe himself for the readers. “I’m not a bad person,” Josh said, “I’m big, I'm imposing, some people may say I'm intimidating, but I’m not, I’m just a big teddy bear. I love my family, I love my friends.” Jim: Where did you grow up? Josh: I grew up in Flint, Michigan on the north side. It was a middle-class neighborhood; my dad worked for General Motors. We lived paycheck to paycheck. I didn’t have a lot, but we weren't poor either. Basically just a working-class family. Jim: When did you first move out of your parents’ house and start to become self-sufficient? Josh: When I was 14. I was living with my girlfriend at the time. I was working and paying bills. If I had been old enough, I would have had a lease. When I turned 18, that’s what I did. We were both on the lease. But we grew apart. It was just one of those momentary relationships where one of us was supposed to learn something from the other. I ended up getting my own place on the east side of Detroit. Jim: What happened that made you homeless? Josh: In 2020 I first became homeless. I had some physical health issues that made it so I couldn’t work at that time. I ended up losing my place. It’s been a roller coaster ever since. Recently I was subletting but I got evicted because it was an illegal sublet. So now I’m homeless again. Over the summer I was camping in the woods. Now it’s winter. The main shelters are crowded and the environment is hostile. Josh chooses not to stay at the Delonis Center because there’s too much violence and open drug use. Instead, he uses community resources like Purple House’s overnight shelter and Delonis’s off-site location. In 1993 Josh moved back into his mother’s home to help pay bills as his father had passed away. Shortly after, Josh’s knee was crushed in a car accident. He was trying to pick up his nephew and was clipped by a van. Jim: Is that what’s keeping you from working now? Josh: My knee started deteriorating, I think the bolt bent a little bit and started rubbing against a nerve. I am not able to stand up for long periods of time. He has titanium screws and bolts that have to be replaced every five to seven years. He is currently overdue. Without a stable place to recuperate, he keeps putting it off. Jim: So if you can’t work, how will you survive? Josh: I just got awarded my disability payments. Now I'm saving up for the first and last month's rent and such. Josh applied for disability two and a half years ago with an attorney. When I met up with Josh for the interview we were at a hospitality house in Ypsilanti. He was visibly upset about something. I asked if he wanted to share it. Josh: I’m blind in my left eye. I just found out Friday that I have a detached retina in my right eye. I have to have major surgery. I’m terrified about it, but I can’t lose my other eye. Jim: What can the local community do to support you? Josh became emotional. Josh: I’m not asking for a handout, but as of right now, just finding somewhere to recover from surgery would be amazing. Even just a couch. At the point he was interviewed, Josh was not sure if his housing would come through in time for the surgery. He needs to be able to recuperate. If he can’t get the housing before the surgery, he will have to put it off. Read that again — Josh is losing his vision and can barely walk. He is homeless and can’t work. Even with SSI, Josh may have to put off the surgery that will determine if he gets to keep his vision or not. Any adult with medical challenges knows that putting off major surgery can spell disaster. Jim: If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be? Josh would like to study Autism in order to be a better father. Photo credit: Emily Mills Josh: The fact that people judge you based on how you look and your situation. Contrary to popular belief, I have some college education. I get treated like a three-year-old because I’m homeless. I hate being judged because of my situation. For example, I was lost in downtown Ann Arbor one day. I tried stopping people to ask for directions, but they would just brush past me and stick their nose in the air. After thirty minutes of this, I lost my temper. It took me getting mad to get help. And then I found out my destination was just two blocks from where I was standing. That’s all it would have taken — just a few seconds and some kindness. Jim: If you could speak to the people who ghosted you, what would you say to them? Josh: I would remind them of what Matthew chapter seven says — “Do not judge or you too will be judged.” Jim: If you could have a free ride to college, what would you study? Josh: I have a special needs son. He’s six and non-verbal autistic. I would study autism and understand how to help my son. Author's note: At the end of March, Josh once again got his housing. APRIL 4, 2025 exp. 06/31/2025
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