bosses and co-workers to the point it became physical. He gave up trying to be a productive member of society. Some of John’s everyday struggles are but not limited to: homelessness, hunger, loneliness, trust issues, and getting into daily fights. By Joe Taylor You may be asking yourself how the 3 words in the title of this article fit together. Let me explain why I have grouped them together. The most recent count of homeless people I can find is 600 to 800 in Toledo. With a good portion of them having either a mental and or physical disability. Which played a big part in their present situation. From not being able to hold a job to not being able to get a job because of a disability. Which in turn is a big factor in how homelessness starts. I have sat down with some of the homeless that were willing to elaborate about their life and how they got where they are. I will not be using real names as they have requested of me. Some of their stories even overwhelmed me emotionally. As I listened, I felt the struggles and pain. It was almost too much to take in at times. Each person unique, but somewhat the same If that makes sense. Jane as we will call her was born with seizures & tourettes. From the time she could remember her family was ashamed of her. To the point when they had company outside of family, they would lock her in her room or the basement like an unwanted animal. She remembers like it was yesterday. She was homeschooled so as not to embarrass her parents. Which makes it almost impossible to function in today’s society. When she turned 18 she was kicked out into the street with nothing but the clothes on her back. With a diploma and no job or social skills made it almost impossible to survive. She tried a variety of workplaces. From fast food to the factory. Nothing was comfortable for her. Jane faced many challenges. To the point she would only last a few days at each job. The end result being no income, except what she would make panhandling. Her emotional state was very distraught and hollow while talking with me. Jane got help with hesitation to get ssi benefits 2 years ago. As of 6 months ago she became approved. She tells me now she is so used to being homeless, she will live the rest of her life this way. I asked her if there was anything I could help with. Janes reply “ love 1 another no matter what”. Jane is rite, so many of us are fixated on appearance and material things. We forget to look past these things to see the true beauty of a person. Next I spoke with who we will call John. John is a 44 year old man who has been in and out of prison since the age of 22. He suffers from bi-polar 2. He had loving parents who did everything they could to support him. He was kicked out of school nonstop, from kindergarten to senior high school. John’s parents died in a car accident when he was 25. He explained that he gave up on life after they passed. He was convicted of crimes from robbery to attempted murder. He does not receive any government assistance at this time. Since the last time he was released from prison in 2017 he has been homeless. The way he talked about his disability is “a fight in your brain”. One side of his brain says yes and the other side says no. Which in his head creates confusion.”It is a war within your head that drives you to anger” he stated. Every job he held ended with him assaulting customers or non stop arguments, with Page 5 Now he asks for spare change or food to survive. He made it clear he prefers to be homeless. This way he doesn’t have to worry about affection or dealing with people too much on a daily basis. The few times he has asked for help he was admitted to different mental facilities. Which seems to only make him madder. Let me be clear when I first approached him he was very standoffish with me. I was a little distrusting with his demeanor at the time I met him. I explained to him I just wanted to tell a story. He kinda was hesitant, but decided to give me a chance. After talking with John I felt a heaviness in my heart. How does 1 live with no companionship or love in their lives? So many thoughts going through my head. I had to walk away from this story for a couple days. We take life for granted on a regular basis. I personally suffer from seizures and bi-polar 1 w/ self destructive tendencies. I can relate to mental and physical disabilities. It is hard to hold a job and function daily. Which is a big part of selling papers for TSN. They help me to grow constantly. We are a very judgemental world in many ways. I believe Lucas County needs more avenue’s for people with disabilities. More places to fit their needs in the work industry, so they can be productive in a positive way and feel somewhat normal. It is hard to function when it feels like you are destined to fail. Another lady just became homeless in the last few months. We will call her Mary. She lost a child 4 months ago. Her fiance blamed her for the loss and left Mary. She was devastated by the loss of her 1st child as well as the loss of her high school sweetheart. The impact of the two together was too much for her to fathom. She suffers from manic depression and dual personalities. Once her life long love left she was lost. No support from family, mentally or financially. So just surviving on ssi she became homeless. So we cried together and bonded. She was so thankful for a shoulder to cry on and an ear to listen. Little did she know she was helping me heal by letting me open up about my life. We ended our time together by a huge emotional hug. As I walked away from mary I stopped and said “ you inspire me”! Mary replied “why” to the statement? “ Because you my friend are a survivor” Was my reply. She smiled ear to ear and walked away. There are so many people homeless or Not that struggle everyday of their life with disabilities. Honestly in my opinion the system that is in place has failed many people. As a society we must learn to be more accepting of those with disabilities. 90% of the disabled homeless or just disabled people that I talk to on a regular basis feel that the world forgot them. That they are worthless. Like they are not wanted or needed. Just recently I saw 1 of these situations in person. A close friend of mine volunteered to be a part of a certain venue. Which was to help a great organization. Once she showed up to start, she was turned down. Due to her physical disability that she suffered from. It was not at the fault of the venue or the organization, It was due to not being able to compensate for her needs at the time. Whether we are disabled mentally, physically, or emotionally we should not have to feel like an outsider. I could see the hurt and disappointment in my friend’s eyes. I was so bothered by it I almost cried. A lot of good people get passed up because of their shortcomings. I hope this article brings light to a sad subject. In the near future we have to be more diligent about other people’s situations and needs. I am not used to writing articles about other people’s lives. So many more stories that need to be told. If we all would take 30 minutes out of our day to just listen, would mean the world to them. Open your eyes to the people around us. Listen for a minute, you would be surprised by how much they have been through and going through. Feel blessed for who we are and what we have.
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