Kaysey Price of the Detroit Lakes Tribune found out why people living under bridges in the city are moving to live under bridges in the city.
GoFundMe
Jeremy Scott and Lori Rogers had nothing but their dog under the Highway 10 overpass. They had been left nearby by their “traveling companions” and were trying to find a way to escape the cold before winter arrived. Time is running out.
Scott’s wallet was stolen a few months ago; he has no identification papers. He has been homeless since quitting his roofing job in Florida, moved to Nebraska to care for his dying mother, and lost his money. Rogers was working at a charity when she met Scott, noticed his boots were shot, and gave him a voucher for a thrift store. In the end, Rogers took Scott to her home. Then her father died, she had trouble paying the bills, she lost her job and her home.
“There is something about losing a parent… something that happens inside a person,” Rogers said.
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So now they live under a bridge, she and Scott watching out for each other, with Buddy — their dog — by their side.
Cô nói với tờ báo: “Tôi thích tự nghĩ rằng điều đó có nghĩa là cả hai chúng ta sẽ gặp nhau trên con đường vĩ đại của cuộc đời và cả hai chúng ta có thể giúp đỡ lẫn nhau”.
Scott nói: “Tôi cố gắng làm mọi thứ để đảm bảo rằng cô ấy ổn, cho dù điều đó có cản trở tôi hay không”. “Trước khi gặp cô ấy, tôi đã treo một tấm biển có dòng chữ ‘Đi du lịch, túng quẫn và đói khát’. Sau khi gặp cô ấy, tôi đã gấp nó lại. Trên đó có dòng chữ ‘Tàn phế và đói khát’. “
Họ có tên trong danh sách được hỗ trợ về nhà ở nhưng họ không bao giờ nghĩ rằng mùa hè sẽ đến rồi đi mà họ vẫn phải ở dưới gầm cầu.
Một người dân đã gọi điện để phàn nàn về họ vào tuần trước, vì vậy cảnh sát đã truy đuổi cặp đôi này.
Anh ta không thể nhận được địa chỉ – hoặc thậm chí hỗ trợ về nhà ở từ Quận Becker, Mahube hoặc các nhà thờ trong khu vực – nếu không có ID và anh ta không thể nhận được ID nếu không có địa chỉ. Ngay cả khi có ID, Scott cũng không thể chứng minh thu nhập bền vững, đó là điều mà các chương trình hỗ trợ – thậm chí cả hỗ trợ khẩn cấp thông qua Quận Becker – yêu cầu.
Không phải là anh ấy gặp vấn đề khi làm việc. Anh ấy đã học được giá trị của một đồng đô la.
“I’m never shy about approaching a guy who’s trying to do a little work on his own. I would go right up to him and ask if he needed a little help, because I needed some change,” he said, recalling He worked multiple jobs to make money while on the road. “Sometimes you will meet someone who is willing to train you. I always tell them ‘Look, I may be a little slow but I like to learn’.”
Scott said when the country music festival WE Fest was in town, he was “banged on” by four guys.
“The world doesn’t even know. This world doesn’t even have a clue. Everyone just needs a paycheck to be in my boots. …The important thing is because we’re homeless doesn’t mean we’re bad people, it doesn’t mean we’re trash,” Scott said. “If someone wants to do us a big favor, talk to us as if we were a human being.”
A business owner in town who owned a pet grooming business decided to try to help the couple. She said she thought the couple wouldn’t be so bad if they had a dog. So she gave them blankets, food, clothes and a phone card to call some housing authorities.
“What people don’t realize is that the smallest things in their lives, like phone cards or post office boxes, are the biggest things in our lives,” Scott said.
Georgiana Nagel’s efforts seem to have paid off. She posted updates on Facebook; another resident, Carissa Markuson, set up a GoFundMe page; One resident has offered to pay for a post office box, and Detroit Lakes residents are starting to rally around a couple who shouldn’t be living under a bridge.
(h/t: Robert Williams)