The Newspaper of Wayfarer's House
May, 1998 Issue  /  Esther Smith, Editor

Welcome to Tracey, Vivian, Marietta, Missy and Stephanie. Farewell and good wishes to Tomey, Joyce, Laura, Cindy and Louise.

Clarke Hair, the volunteer from South Carolinawho worked at Meeting Ground for three months, has bid us farewell and departed for a visit to Europe with his family. Our thanks to Clarke for all his labors in our behalf.

Wayfarers' House had, not a recent "face lift" so much as a "foot lift!" There is new beige carpeting and padding in the living room, hallway and stairs. Can you tell how much quieter we are? And our walks in those areas are springier, too. Our thanks to Trish and recent resident Tomey for their work in removing all the remains of the old padding before the new padding was laid. Several residents have asked Ups & Downs to remind us all that we are to confine our food and drink to the dining room and kitchen in the interest of protecting the new carpet. And our thanks to all whose chores have included vacuuming it also.

ACTIVITIES AT WAYFARERS'

Mon., 2-4 p.m. - Dr. Aaron sees patients
Tue., 9 p.m. - House meeting
Wed., 10 a.m. - Leona leads Art Class 8 p.m. - Kathy leads Drug and Alcohol group
Thurs., 2 p.m. - Computer instruction
Sun., 3:15 p.m. - Transportation to the Farm for Chapel at 4:00 and Dinner at 5 p.m.

Wish List for Wayfarers' House:

A grill for outdoor cooking - a way of keeping the house cooler on the hottest evenings,

A wheelchair - so that those who have some breathing or mobility problems can participate in activities that would require some walking,

Bleach, disinfectant, sheets, pillows, blankets, towels, washcloths, antiseptic ointment, gauze (roll type), insect repellent (Off, Cutter's), disposable diapers (all baby sizes), coffee, sugar, general office supplies, assorted canned goods, latex white paint, laundry and dish soap, 9v smoke detector batteries, flashlight batteries and general office supplies, especially computer paper.

A New Volunteer for Meeting Ground

Christine A. Stewart, a student at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, is coming to Meeting Ground for a nine-month internship. Watch for an Ups & Downs interview with her soon.

ONE HOMELESS PERSON'S PERSPECTIVE
What follows is an article reprinted from the May-June, 1998, LOAVES AND FISHES. It will be reprinted in two parts, the final portion to appear in our June issue.

Everyone has their skeletons in the closet. Combine them coming out with a system in a state of chaos and you have a bad combination. That's what is happening to me. As you'll read later my skeletons are criminal charges, including drug possession and use. It needs to be understood that during my offenses I was NEVER living in a Section-8 or Housing Authority provided home. I never even applied for such things. With my drug use finally in the past and all my criminal charges ending on August 24, 1995 I was beginning a new life.

I became pregnant in March 1996. My child's father worked, but we would barely survive on his income. My aunt, who used to work for Social Services recommended we get on the Section-8 and Housing Authority lists. I did this in October 1996. These programs send update letters periodically, my first one came in January 1997. I filled it out and turned it in by hand. I remember clearly because my baby was so small and I hated taking her out in the cold. I didn't get a receipt showing I'd delivered it, MISTAKE.

I next received a letter from Elkton Housing Authority/Section-8 stating that I'd been removed from their Section-8 list, "as I did not provide them with requested updated information." I was advised I could request an informal hearing to discuss the decision. I immediately did this and got a hearing for April 24, 1997. I went and told them I knew for a fact I had delivered their update by hand, describing the lady I'd handed it to. They decided to put me back on the list, but I'd lost 7 months of my wait. That was disappointing.

I didn't hear anything from E.H.A. or Section-8 for awhile after that. Then on July 9 they sent another update letter. This form I had them copy and stamp the received date (July 17, 1997) so I wouldn't have to go through the misplaced form ordeal again. It was on this form that I reported my baby's father had to leave us due to medical problems so I had no way to keep our house. I also reminded them in writing of the last update letter getting misplaced and losing my 7 months of wait. I tried to get a job and fought for a good paying one (lots of tests and interviews) and got in.

But I had no day-care for my 8-month-old daughter and no transportation to get there, so I lost it. Frustration caused me to relapse, I knew I was losing my home. I started drinking and drugging for a couple of weeks before putting myself back in drug & alcohol counseling. It was too late though, Social Services had me put my daughter with her grandparents and I went to Wayfarers' homeless shelter.

I walked down to E.H.A. from Wayfarers' to check my status in November 1997. I was told they had nothing on me whatsoever. First a form got misplaced and cost me 7 months of wait time, now I'd apparently been deleted by accident(?). This time I lost 8 months of wait. They said, "well, you can reapply," so I did. On November 29, 1997 I received a letter stating my application for public housing was denied because of my criminal record and falsification on my application. I was advised, again, that I could request a fair hearing.