NOVEMBER 14, 2025 PEOPLE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD People in the Neighborhood: Terry People in the Neighborhood is a Groundcover News column that focuses on the unhoused neighbors of the street community of Washtenaw County. This is Terry’s story. I met Terry at the Washtenaw Camp Outreach BBQ and he said he had just gotten out of prison but was not offered any housing, so I wanted to know more. Terry begins “I'm 57 years old. I was born in Arkansas but grew up in California. My mom's still there. I have 11 sisters, 42 nephews and nieces, five great-nephews and nieces, and five uncles and aunties that still live in Northern California.” “So, half of California,” I teased. “Pretty much,” he agreed. “Do you have kids?” I asked. “I have no children. I was locked up for a number of years so I didn't get that opportunity. I'm probably still going to produce one or two. I've got to get financially stable first,” he said. “Yeah, I don't have any kids either, but I'm pretty sure that's due to my personality,” I added with resignation. “Did you go to high school?” I asked. “Yes,” he declared, “I went to Gisborne Senior High and graduated in 1986.” “Did you go to college?” I inquired. “I went to college in prison,” he said. “I could pick up ten credit hours a semester. I only went to class four times a month but I got a lot of homework. I earned an Associate's degree in General Studies and a Bachelor's degree in Sociology. I want to further my education so I just applied at Washtenaw Community College to study Culinary Arts.” “You said you're homeless?” I asked. “I'm the new face of it,” he informed me. “How did you get there?” I asked. “I got out of prison, and that's when I got my way into it,” he explained. “The prison system didn’t give you a voucher or set you up with a job and a place to stay?” “No. Because I'm not connected to the system; you have to be on probation or be enrolled in order to get some help from the system. There has to be a link, and so by me not having a link, my assets are not there for me. I'm still an ex-convict. I can't receive any of the stuff that current ex-convicts do on probation. If I get in some trouble, they're going to run my name, and they're going to say, ‘Oh, you're an ex-convict.’ So, my conviction doesn't disappear. So why shouldn't I be able to get some assistance so I don't have JIM CLARK Groundcover vendor No. 139 to repeat the cycle?” Terry’s punishment continues beyond prison by having a criminal record that follows him everywhere. Now he can't get a job. He can't get housing and he faces harassment by the police due to stigma. The system sets him up to fail by not providing a way to get the things he needs to survive. Without those, any human being may compromise morality. It’s as if the system wants him to fail. “I also think that, you know, our incarceration system, I mean, it's like if we took care of everything at home and in the community, we wouldn't need it,” he said. “Just like the police, for instance. I personally believe that, again, if we see the police, and we have a certain fear of them, whatever it may be, and we're still, at the end of the day, respecting them. But they need to be more committed to their stuff. Personally, I think that they should go into the neighborhoods on foot. I think that they should go into those small clubs, talk to people, walk around, chat with people, do different stuff. It may take some time, but if you build that relationship, I guarantee you that it will get better.” “What's the connection you have with Washtenaw County? ” I asked. “I have a connection with the Department of Community Corrections. Many people experiencing homelessness after incarceration come through here and are met by groups like A Brighter Way, Home of New Vision and Supreme Felons. They are people that do stuff like you do [mutual aid work]. They do reentry to help you with housing, Section 8, and get people out of jail. They also try to do some preventative work. This is the type of stuff they do. Homeless people come through there every day. And they all have little rooms that they go into. We all hang out there and talk to each other, strategize what we're going to do for the weekend, what's coming up, what's going to happen.” “Do you have family here that can help?” I asked. “I have family here, but I barely know them at all. There's no ‘hey, come over here to get a hug and make GROUNDCOVER NEWS 11 Terry is working towards stability and a life of service despite challenges from the carceral system. a sandwich.’ Which is unfortunate,” he said regretfully. “Where's life taking you now? What are you working on to get out of that tent?” I wanted to know. “I work with a lady at Community Corrections named Keila Irwin. She told me they get Section 8 vouchers and selection is based on your circumstances. If you qualify, within a week or two you get housing,” he answered. “I already talked to this other lady who told me once I get an apartment she would introduce me to some people that will furnish it.” Terry continued, “The number one thing I need is a job and I have a lead on one.” “What's the job?” I asked. “Kroger,” Terry replied. “The manager told me they were full right now but there's a turnover that starts when it gets cold. He said most of the time they always need a third shift worker. He said a lot of people don't like it. I said, yeah, I have no problem with the third shift. I need work.” Terry believes in giving back so he spends a lot of time helping out around the LEAF harm reduction facility. “And I like it,” he remarked. “I really like talking to people. I really like living the struggle. I like being in the struggle. Because as I come up, I know exactly what's needed. I know exactly how to apply what I know because I'm right here. I’ve lived it.” Terry’s desire to give back to the homelessness advocate network is common among survivors of homelessness. A “foxhole camaraderie" forms among homelessness survivors. People begin to accept each other unconditionally, to go to great lengths to help people overcome challenges presented by the system, and to be present for people they may have ignored before their own tragedy occurred. “Is there anything else you’d like to talk about?” I asked. “I have been a member of the organization called the Moorish Science Temple for a very long time. I’ve been with them for about 29 years. It's a wonderful organization, it really is.” “I’ve never heard of them,” I said. Terry brought me up to speed: “Because they were very discreet, very quiet, so most people didn't hear about them. The first time you heard about it was in prison. It was a powerful religious organization in prison for decades.” The Moorish Science Temple of America was established in 1929 by Noble Drew Ali. Ali created the temple to help the African-American community restore their identity, which to Ali meant reclaiming Islam and the heritage of the Moabites. The Temple also promotes self-reliance, positive identity, civic pride and self-transformation. Terry told me he doesn’t want to get into some of the branches of the MSTA. He was referring to the “Moorish Sovereign Citizens,” a splinter group considered to be anti-government extremists. “The MSTA has leaders all over the United States. They have elections once a year, every September. There's one Grand Chief, one Assistant Grand Chief, one Secretary, one Secretary of Defense. They're going to try to spread out a little bit more to some branches. They're going to end up in Macomb and the eastside of Detroit. There's a couple people trying to do stuff now.”
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