Times are tough all over.
Today, several families are visiting the office of Catholic Charities at 333 East Poplar in Olathe, just across the street from Mill Creek Park, a few blocks from the Johnson County Courthouse. Inside the one-story, peach-colored building, parents are picking through bags of donated groceries in the food pantry and poking through cubbies full of free clothing. An elderly man, also here to pick up food, slips two one-dollar bills to a volunteer on his way out the door and tells him to give the cash to two tiny Hispanic girls in sundresses after he's gone.
"In the big city, you know the homeless people because they're the scraggly guys holding 'will work for food' signs on the side of the road," says Lauren Flynn, director of a Salvation Army emergency shelter. "In Johnson County, they're probably standing behind you in line at Price Chopper."
Flynn says the waiting list of families seeking emergency shelter at the Salvation Army now tops 60. At the beginning of each month, a line of needy people snakes out the door and around the corner. But the agency's emergency assistance money is gone by the second day of the month. The shelter can house 10 families at a time; it moves people with children to a renovated motel just around the corner from the Catholic Charities office.
In January 2007, workers from charity organizations went out to count the homeless population in the metro. They identified 293 people living on the streets or in cars or drifting from friend's house to friend's house — an increase of 38 from the same exercise in 2005. Half of the homeless people counted were children younger than 18. Flynn's organization serves families first, and then single women if there's room. Twelve Johnson County churches also lend sleeping space to homeless families.
But there are no options in Johnson County for single men. Mina Foster, a case manager at Catholic Charities, says she tells them to seek out the well-lighted parking lots of 24-hour stores and sleep in their cars at night.
"This is my little world back here," Reynaldo Castillo says cheerfully, opening the passenger door of his 1978 Ford Econoline van. It's white, detailed with a broad red stripe down the sides and lined inside with cracking, quilted vinyl. He wears jeans, a clean T-shirt, work boots and a "U.S.A." hat embroidered with an eagle.
Castillo leaves the van in the parking lot of the Wal-Mart Supercenter at Santa Fe and Black Bob Road in Olathe, where he works unloading boxed merchandise off 18-wheelers from four in the afternoon until one in the morning. When he's not at work, he drives a short distance east on Santa Fe and parks the van under a line of trees planted in a concrete island that separates a Blockbuster store from a Payless Shoes.
"Nobody bothers me over here," he says. "It's real quiet. You can just hear the birds. To me, it's just like a park. It's beautiful, you know. To me, it's not that bad. They tell me in Kansas City, downtown is real bad. Over here is just like a little country, you know. I like it."
Castillo's van is tall enough for him to stand up inside. He sleeps on a yellow upholstered loveseat behind the driver's seat. Opposite the loveseat is a small counter covered with papers, photographs and a paperback New Testament. In the back, behind a flimsy wooden door and underneath a pile of winter blankets, is a toilet that Castillo doesn't use. The air conditioning doesn't work, so Castillo keeps the front windows down, the back windows cracked and a ceiling vent open. There's a breeze in the summertime, but in the winter, no matter how tightly he shuts himself in, blowing snow still finds its way inside.
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There is a wealth of good iformation and rescources for people living in cars or vans.
Try http://carliving.info
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/...
There is a wealth of good iformation and rescources for people living in cars or vans. Try http://carliving.info http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/VanDwellers/
I think it is sad that a former alcoholic would stamp that label on someone else they had never met.
YOU ARE A PATHETIC HUMAN BEING!
There are many reasons that people lose everything. I had a girlfriend who wanted to dump her husband because he always worked overtime to keep bills paid and so they could have a nice vacation every year. She would steal his child support payments out of the mail and cash them. No kidding. I lost everything after my dad died. I had been a primary caregiver, my husband worked full time, 3 kids at home. My dad died, my husband lost his job, my brothers basically each took a piece of the estate while my sister cleaned property out of the house, and my mentally ill sister came to live with me. Half of my husband's unemployment check went to his ex for child support. HALF. That left us with $550-600 a month, some food stamps, and whatever someone gave us as we both frantically looked for jobs and a place for my sister to live. In Johnson County, with a lease in effect, utilities to pay, prescriptions to pick up, etc. We had no savings at the time. My husband worked construction. Our utilities got cut off. My sister could eat half of our groceries for the week in one day. Things happen. so if you haven't been there don't judge. You have no idea what it's like.
So to the witless person who was so judgmental - get your whiny hiney in church and beg forgiveness. You are nothing but a dry drunk and that is worse than being passed out in the gutter. You are not holier than thou and if you cost this man his job you should lose yours too. didn't you learn anything in AA or NA?
I think it is sad that a former alcoholic would stamp that label on someone else they had never met. YOU ARE A PATHETIC HUMAN BEING! There are many reasons that people lose everything. I had a girlfriend who wanted to dump her husband because he always worked overtime to keep bills paid and so they could have a nice vacation every year. She would steal his child support payments out of the mail and cash them. No kidding. I lost everything after my dad died. I had been a primary caregiver, my husband worked full time, 3 kids at home. My dad died, my husband lost his job, my brothers basically each took a piece of the estate while my sister cleaned property out of the house, and my mentally ill sister came to live with me. Half of my husband's unemployment check went to his ex for child support. HALF. That left us with $550-600 a month, some food stamps, and whatever someone gave us as we both frantically looked for jobs and a place for my sister to live. In Johnson County, with a lease in effect, utilities to pay, prescriptions to pick up, etc. We had no savings at the time. My husband worked construction. Our utilities got cut off. My sister could eat half of our groceries for the week in one day. Things happen. so if you haven't been there don't judge. You have no idea what it's like. So to the witless person who was so judgmental - get your whiny hiney in church and beg forgiveness. You are nothing but a dry drunk and that is worse than being passed out in the gutter. You are not holier than thou and if you cost this man his job you should lose yours too. didn't you learn anything in AA or NA?
I also know Reynaldo and know him to be a kind and gentle soul. He is an upstanding individual EVIDENCED by his payment of child support! Dead beat DADS change jobs frequently to avoid the child support garnishment. Not Reynaldo ... he works to keep his job so that his children get the support they deserve. He sleeps in a van so that his children can sleep in a home! I wish MORE Dads were like Reynaldo - if they were, there would be less children in poverty. I doubt if the first commentors information is correct ... it is probably more of a stereotype.
I also know Reynaldo and know him to be a kind and gentle soul. He is an upstanding individual EVIDENCED by his payment of child support! Dead beat DADS change jobs frequently to avoid the child support garnishment. Not Reynaldo ... he works to keep his job so that his children get the support they deserve. He sleeps in a van so that his children can sleep in a home! I wish MORE Dads were like Reynaldo - if they were, there would be less children in poverty. I doubt if the first commentors information is correct ... it is probably more of a stereotype.
I'm speaking as someone who has been homeless and is a recovering alcoholic. I know what it takes to get out of situations like that and getting sober is a vital step. That was the point of my comment.
Petty rumor...close friend talking about a co-worker...news article. All should be taken with a grain of salt of course.
I'm speaking as someone who has been homeless and is a recovering alcoholic. I know what it takes to get out of situations like that and getting sober is a vital step. That was the point of my comment. Petty rumor...close friend talking about a co-worker...news article. All should be taken with a grain of salt of course.
Try to have the perspective of a homeless person. Imagine what is does to one's mental stability to be in that position, whether self-inflicted or not. Also, imagine the humiliation one must risk to even speak up in an article like this. Not one person asked for pity, and each person interviewed took responsibilty for their situation. To rely on petty gossip for your information on someone you don't know is a dangerous choice of action. It makes you look extremely ignorant and immature. I thought this article was smart and powerful. Bravo.
Try to have the perspective of a homeless person. Imagine what is does to one's mental stability to be in that position, whether self-inflicted or not. Also, imagine the humiliation one must risk to even speak up in an article like this. Not one person asked for pity, and each person interviewed took responsibilty for their situation. To rely on petty gossip for your information on someone you don't know is a dangerous choice of action. It makes you look extremely ignorant and immature. I thought this article was smart and powerful. Bravo.
What's interesting is perspectives, I know someone that works with Reynaldo who's complained to me that the dude comes into work everyday drunk, stinking of booze and BO. Perhaps if he didn't spend his extra cash on booze he could afford a place to live easier? And perhaps that's why he's having a hard time finding someone to live with?
What's interesting is perspectives, I know someone that works with Reynaldo who's complained to me that the dude comes into work everyday drunk, stinking of booze and BO. Perhaps if he didn't spend his extra cash on booze he could afford a place to live easier? And perhaps that's why he's having a hard time finding someone to live with?
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