shawn time 23.36.18..06.30.06 | Comments (2)

housing

updates updates

1. we were supposed to be out of our place today, but got an extension to stay an extra few days
2. after some delay on my criminal background check (???), the apartment I am moving to finally approved me today
3. after leaving many messages, I finally got ahold of the housing community that Tom will live, and she gave me the great news that Tom has been accepted (!!!!)....however his apartment will not be ready for 2 weeks....new carpet, new tiles, etc.

so....
4. I inked the deal for my place, and can move in as early as tomorrow ( I will be living in the Marquam area.....behind OHSU)....small place...cheap place.
5. we need to figure out what/where Tom is going to stay for the next 2 weeks. it may be a possibility that he can just continue to stay here at our old place, but not sure on that yet. they did want us out today.

I appreciate all of you that offered me a place to stay, but I am handled....anyone got an extra space for Tom for a week or 2? May be up until the 17th of July.

I am going to check with my landlord first, but need to consider a backup plan if we need to get out of here.

at the end of the day.....Tom will have a place of his own to live.

shawn time 14.51.34..06.29.06 | Comments (0)

still waiting...

still waiting to hear about the housing situation for Tom.
getting a little too close for my comfort.

can't get them to return my calls.

(gulp)

pray.

shawn time 11.26.27..06.26.06 | Comments (2)

Tom's housing update

Tom had an appointment last Friday morning with an apartment complex that is subsidized through HUD. It went well. All the paperwork has been filled out. He even looked at the 2 that are available and picked his preference.

Now....we wiat to see how his background and credit history check out, as well as a call to his landlord (me) to verify eveything.

She is supposed to call today.

It is still not a done deal....but if all goes well, Tom can move in this week.
It's a great deal.... $177 a month rent!!

More soon.

Special thankd to Roy for giving Tom a lift to the appointment and helping out with whatever was needed!!!

Now, I should probably look for a place to live. I have to be outta here in a less than a week. Yikes.

shawn time 21.50.03..06.22.06 | Comments (3)

more important things....

important things that I found out today from Tom's annual appointment with the Multnomah Aging and Disability Department...

because Tom qualifies for SSI....
1. he will receive medical, dental, vision, mental health, and perscriptions for free forever. (maybe a co-pay on the drugs)
2. the state will pay (and reimburse past payments of) medicare forever
3. if he ever saves up more than $2000, he will lose his SSI benefit, which means losing both #1 and #2 above
4. the dental plan will provide dentures for free
5. he will continue to get food stamps for another year

The even more amazing bit of news....
Tomorrow we have an appointment for Tom to fill out an application for his own apartment.....and if everything goes smoothly (credit/eviction history and criminal background check) Tom will be able to move in Monday.

what?

that's what the nice lady on the phone at the apartment complex said.

Monday.

shawn time 19.28.08..06.21.06 | Comments (3)

the day approacheth

important things shawn did today:

1. took Tom to the NW Pilot Project office for a meeting about housing,
2. see #1 above.

NW Pilot Project helps single people over 55 years of age find affordable housing. The meeting was fairly typical, I guess. A bunch of "intake" questions. Name. Dates. Living situation.

These meetings always take time, especially since Tom has a bit of difficulty speaking. So writing becomes the main source of communication. The advocate we worked with had tremendous patience and compassion for the situation....I guess that's why she does the work she does.

What I learned is that the Housing Authority of Portland (HAP) gives out section 8 housing vouchers, but the waiting list is closed, and when it opens to get on it you still need to wait at least 5 years before you can get in a place. The main reason, evidentally, is underfunding. Stinky. This is what I thought we would be up against.

BUT....there is another option which I knew nothing about. HUD has a program for people 62 years and older, that, if you qualify, you can get subsidized housing. You pay 30% of your income. HUD pays the rest. There are a number of places in Portland (I have the list!!!) that ONLY rent to 62+ for subsidized HUD housing. Who knew? Maybe all of you knew. I didn't. The cool thing is that because there are age specific housing properties, the waiting lists are significantly shorter than waiting for section 8 vouchers.

NW Pilot Project helps people get into this process with HUD and moving into a place of their own. They will help with a rental deposit, or help people move, or help aquire furniture or kitchen items, etc. Very cool.

So, our advocate lady asked Tom if there was an area of town which he preferred to live. He immediately wrote "SE". Tom grew up in SE Portland. So she pointed out a couple of the properties that she highly recommended. We will need to call through the list and arrange times to go fill out paperwork with individual properties and wait for availability. This is a good thing. A place to start.

but what hapened after that is the coolest...

Our advocate called directly the property manager for an apartment building that is well respected and of highest quality while we were sitting there. And, evidentally, she called at the right time. There is an apartment that is available immediately!!! That shouldn't be possibe. That shouldn't be true. There should be a waiting list of some sort, even if it is only a few months.

We have an appointment Friday to go fill out the paper work to see if they will accept Tom into this apartment building. It is not a done deal. He needs to be approved by the landlord that runs the facility. But our advocate was very surprised that something like this, in the building of choice, in SE Portland, is available right now.

So, if Tom gets approved, he gets his own apartment for 30% of his income.

So, for all you praying types.....pray for Tom. Pray for Friday. For those that don't... just give your money to NW Pilot Project. They have to stop some services because of low funding. But it is such a needed service to the elderly of Portland.

The day approacheth when all homeless will find (or be given) a place to call home.

shawn time 02.05.08..06.16.06 | Comments (2)

Tom's Birthday

June 15, 1941

Celebrate it for my man Tom.

He knows when his birthday is, but his watch was set wrong(ly?) so he thought today was the 14th....
so when I showed up with gifts, he was pretty surprised.

It's cool to tell a guy that it's his birthday.

I was hoping to give him keys to a new apartment of his own, but I still gotta do some work on that.

shawn time 23.00.07..11.08.05 | Comments (8)

tom update

well, it took a year and a half, but tom had a doctors appointment today...
part of the process to see if he is eligible for supplemental security income (ssi).

it was a bit anti-climatic.

what i thought was weird was that it was an entire docs office set up for social security evaluations. BUT... it does not seem like the doctor had a clue as to how the process works, or even what she was looking for with tom. so, it seems like it is more of an "assigned" case that certain doctors have to do without choice. the doctor was pleasant, but kinda clueless on why we were there or what she was supposed to be doing....

...oh, and she didn't know where the bathroom was.

so i dont really think she belonged there.

...oh, and she was wearing a "Harley Davidson" belt buckle.

serious.

shawn time 00.57.04..10.04.05 | Comments (2)

how cool is this picture?

i caption this photo as...
"it now makes perfect sense why tom bought me a left handed glove for x-mas"

shawn time 23.59.33..06.19.05 | Comments (7)

ID

An update on Tom...

Evidentally, the key to unlocking the entire issue with getting a man his ID (read: identity) back is a library card.

The issue was that Tom was not able to cash his social security checks because all he had was an expired Washington ID, and Fred Meyer was onto it. Freddy's let it slide for months. The checks were stacking up, and we had no way of cashing them.

All Tom had was an expired WA ID and a social security card.

Ideally, what Tom needed was a bank account. In order to get a bank account, he needed a current ID, in order to get an Oregon ID card, he needed 2 primary pieces of ID, which need both picture AND signature (it is a bit more complex than that, but...). SS card does not count without a picture ID.

At one point we thought Tom's service discharge papers (DD-214) would help us. So we went to that VA last summer, they said that they would send them. They didn't. (side note: to get into the Federal Building downtown you need a current picture ID. The VA offices are in the Federal Building. They almost did not let Tom in.). So a couple month ago we sent for them (DD-214 papers) again, and they came this time. A closer reading of the DMV requirements found that a SS card and DD-214 doesn't cut it. The DD-214, which I thought was going to be the key, unlocks nothing.

We needed to figure out how to get Tom's birth certificate. Tom was born in Idaho. I call Idaho. To get a birth certificate, he needed to send his SS card.

"That's it?"
"Yep"
"Really?"
"Yep"
"That's awesome."
"Yep. Oh, and throw in another piece in that has his signature on it."
"What?"
"Yeah, just throw in one other piece of ID also."
"Uh...like what?"
"Like a current drivers license, or library card."
"Library card?"
"Yep"
"Ok"

Library card. That should be easy. So I call Multnomah County library. No go. In order to get a library card, you need a current picture ID. Sucky.

Let me take a moment to list the various picture/signature ID cards that I have in my pocket right now:

Oregon drivers license
AAA membership card
PNCA Faculty card
PTCU Business Debit Card
24 Hour Fitness member card
US Bank Debit Card

and if I look at some other cards that I do not carry regularly:
Medical Examiners Certificate
J.Crew Credit Card
COMPUSA Credit Card
SoccerPlex ID card
Social Security card
Birth Certificate
USA Passport
Lake Oswego public library card

I could go out tomorrow and get any number more of these. I could potentially double that amount within the week. A fishing license, a donor card, another few credit cards, etc etc.

So, I decide to call LO library. I asked if they would give a library card to a man with an expired picture ID. I got put on hold. A supervisor was asked. I was told that they could probably arrange it. Arrange it? Arrange it. It all seemed a but shady, a bit like a mafia deal, a bit black market.

Or, it seemed like a moment of grace. A gracious bending of the rules to start a process to give a man back his identity. Tom's was lost. He was trapped without it. He could not even cash a check written to him from the government, that he earned. One grace-filled bend of the rule was THE moment. The point when you start walking downhill after a long uphill. The point where tiredness turns to ridiculous laughter. The point when... well... you get the point.

That same day we drove to the LO library. I am very grateful to the library. I started my tutoring business there. Before I started tutoring in homes, I met all of my students there. I have spent many hours there. They don't know me there. I just think that its cool that there is some history for me there. They were not doing me a favor. I believe that it was a geniune God-given gift for Tom.

It only took a few minutes to fill out the paperwork. Tom signed the card, I vouched for his address. I think they knew that he would never check out a book. Maybe even never again step foot in the place. I think they understood what was going on. I like to believe they did. I like the story that way.

Its all a downhill coast from here...

The library card gets sent with the SS card and $18 to Idaho to get a expedited birth certificate. Tom was adopted, so that added a bit of a hiccup in tracking down the proper name on the certificate, but we got it a couple weeks later.

The birth certificate, SS card, a piece of mail showing current home address, and $29 was taken to the DMV (the Lake Oswego one, of course), and after a few minutes Tom walks out with a valid current picture ID card. My friend Laura stopped by later that day, and Tom was out on the porch having a smoke, and the first thing he did was show her the ID card. It was like a kid showing off his new bike.

The ID card, SS card, birth certificate, and 2 SS checks were taken to Wells Fargo to open a checking account. 45 minutes later Tom has a checking account, savings account, and his SS checks are going to be automatically direct deposited for him. No matter where Tom goes, no matter where he lives, he will always have access to his money. He will never have to rely on me, or an absent-minded Fred Meyer clerk to cash his checks. It is his money. Deposited every month for the rest of his life.

Personal checks arrived a few days later. Debit card a few days after that.

Tom now has:
SS card
Birth Certificate
DD-214 Papers
Lake Oswego Library Card
Oregon ID Card
Wells Fargo Debit Card

6.
6.
6.
6.
6.
6.

It took a year to go from 1 (SS card) to 6.
Now, if he wants, he could double that number tomorrow.

shawn time 22.41.01..05.12.05 | Comments (8)

getting mad

it is so damn impossible to get a (previously) homeless person ID.
it is so hard that it is wrong.
period.

shawn time 00.04.50..12.23.04 | Comments (1)

Open House for Tom's X-mas

Open Invite to an Open House

All,

Merry Christmas!

You are all invited to an open house to celebrate Christmas with me and my roommate Tom. Most of you know at least a bit about Tom's story and how we ended up being roomies. (If not, let me know and I can give you the history.)

As I have lived with Tom for the past 6 months or so, I have gotten to know him fairly well, yet he is still pretty uncomfortable when being around groups of people. Because of this fact, and because I know that he enjoys the holiday season (he decorates the apartment.....first Halloween jack-o-lanterns, now......lights, tinsel, and santa figurines!!!), I am going to have an open house for Tom's X-mas so that he can receive some of the holiday cheer!! ......and some gifts too!

So, the details:

Sunday, December 26th.
My apartment, 7912 SW 31st Ave #B, Portland 97219
Show up anytime between 1pm and 4pm.
My apartment is the concrete box. Not the street level apartment, but the one down the gravel stairs underneath, facing the back. Not a lot of parking. If my parking area is full, park across the street in the multnomah center parking lot.
If you need directions....click this link
shawn's place

Here's the deal though.

Tom has trouble talking. He has a throat condition that prevents him from talking. So, conversation is highly improbable. You can talk to me, of course, but don't expect to have a sit down and get to know the details of Tom's life. He may say hi, and shake your hand, and say thanks, but that may be all you get from him. That's just the way it is.

Also, don't expect to stay for long. Of course I will not kick you out. But I do want to avoid a lot of people being here at once. If a lot of people are hanging out, it no longer becomes an open house for Tom (because he will become uncomfortable with lots of people), but a party for my friends. Not that I would not want to spend time with y'all. But, I am trying to keep his comfort and enjoyment as the priority.

AND...
bring something as a gift for Tom.

it doesn't have to be expensive, or extravagant.

I have asked Tom what he wants for Christmas. He did not have a lot of ideas.
He mentioned fishing gear. When is he going to fish? I dunno. Where? I dunno. When? I dunno.
I am just passing it along.
He also said he would like christmas cards. A christmas greeting card.

Some ideas I had that he might enjoy:
clothes, or gift certificates for clothes. pants (30-32 waist, 30-32 length), shirts (medium or large).
he is still using some of my bedding, blankets and pillow. he may enjoy his own.
he loves coffee.
he loves cigarettes/tobacco (bugler or top). he rolls his own.
he likes shopping at fred meyer for most things.
he would enjoy going to a movie, or renting a movie.

Don't let this list hold you back. Feel free to diverge from what I have mentioned if you have some creative ideas.
Anything is appreciated.

Feel free to forward this to anyone else you think would want to help Tom enjoy Christmas this year.

And, if anyone wants to help with some beverage/snacks/appetizers/hor'd'e'r've's, lemme know!

So, if you are at all interested in helping Tom enjoy the day, please feel free to stop by Sunday.
Any questions, leave a comment!!

Merry Christmas.
Shawn
p.s. gifts for shawn will be gladly received as well! :)