"A Nice Guy on Thayer Street"
By Xuanjie (Coco) Huang
Embedded Files
According to The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, on an annual basis, at least 2.5 to 3.5 million Americans find themselves in situations where they either stay in shelters, transitional housing, or public places that aren't designed for human habitation. Among them, approximately 4,000 men, women, and children experience homelessness in Rhode Island. The survey conducted by the U.S. Conference of Mayors shows that the primary reasons for homelessness are: "(1) lack of affordable housing, (2) unemployment, (3) poverty, (4) mental illness and the lack of needed services, and (5) substance abuse and the lack of needed services.", in the order of importance.
Above is how we perceive homelessness today. We translate complicated situations into issues that could be summed up by one word; We translate people into numbers. We distance ourselves from the real individuals and their unique stories, as we establish the common perception that people experiencing homelessness all have similar backgrounds, predicaments, and even characters - poor, alcoholic, or insane.
Although this is a useful way to summarize homelessness from a broad and macroscopic perspective, it should be noted that it might form a stereotypical narrative, in which individuality is lost in statistics, while empathy is lost in discussions. By labeling and grouping individuals as "homeless people", we sometimes forget the fact that experiencing homelessness is often not the most important part of people's life or identity. What does a person do during the day? What are their hobbies? How are their families? Are they happy? If we look closer and talk deeper, there's always a different story covered up by stereotypes.
Going onto the streets of Providence, I opened up with a simple "What did you have for breakfast?" and started to hear the stories of living people.
One of them was G, a man who begged for a living on Thayer Street, who told his story of being a tramp, an ex-husband, and a criminal.
PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND--Being unemployed and homeless for years after being jailed twice, G became a pro of housing resources, employment welfare, and social security around the public sector of Providence. “I know it all. The resources are there. It depends on if you want to better yourself. I want to better myself.” He was glad to find a home in Providence, although he still struggled to pay the rent.
Chinatown on Thayer Street
“When people ask, I fabricate, you know…I wouldn’t just put myself out there.” G often told people that he lived in a shelter, but actually, he didn’t. As a middle-aged man begging for a living on Thayer Street, he felt more reasonable sometimes to tell people that he was homeless instead of living in an apartment. “People would think that I’m rich or something!” People questioning him for “begging but being rich” always annoyed G.
Many shop owners, residents, and students in Providence knew G. When we talked about homeless people near Brown University, G was among the first being thought of by Brown students. “He’s really nice!” Two of the students told me simultaneously. Indeed, G was always really respectful to people passing by Thayer Street. “I am very polite. I’ve never been disrespectful.” G said proudly. “You know, when female students walk by, I wouldn’t say ‘hi girls’, instead I say ‘good afternoon ladies’.” This made G unique and approachable to many Brown students.
When I first saw G, I thought of Walter White in the TV series Breaking Bad. Despite of similar appearance (bald head and same glasses), they had a similar vibe that told you there was something special about their past, that they had a story to tell.
I approached G on a Monday evening. He instantly smiled after I greeted him. I noticed that he was unlike many others begging for money on Thayer. He dressed decently in a black sweater. His glasses were clean, and there were interesting rings on his fingers—one of them marked the symbol of peace, which he told me later that he got from the booth in front of Brown’s Book Store. He told me he was going back to his "shelter". Thus, we delayed our interview.
Walter White in Breaking Bad
I found him the next day afternoon devouring a huge bottle of water under the sun of early Spring. He looked at me as if he had already been waiting for a long time. “Take a seat.” We sat on the stairs by the wall of Chinatown, just beside the entrance, with people walking in and out of the restaurant. “You’re not gonna ask the same questions that Rachel asked me, are you?” Rachel, who was also a student at Brown, was interviewing with G two days ago. There were a lot of students curious about the life of G, given the fact that G was especially easy to talk to. However, it was always hard to tell which stories were true and which ones were not. Having known G for a semester, his genuine story finally unfolded.
G grew up in the south part of Rhode Island with nice parents whom he adored and missed a lot. He went to public schools, worked like everyone else, and led a normal life, until he committed a felony when he was 36. “I had done a horrible thing. It was me. It was only me. No one forced me to do it, no drug, no alcohol, I just made a stupid decision.” G suggested that it was something sensitive that he did not want to go deeper about, although Olivia, a student leader of the HOPE organization at Brown who worked with homeless people knew his full story.
I later found his crime records online. It turned out that he was a registered sex offender.
A criminal shot of G
The sexual offense records of G found on Rhode Island Sex Offender Registry
After the crime, he thought that he’d only be asked to do social service or other forms of compensation, given that this was the first crime on his record, but he ended up being in prison for five and a half years. Nevertheless, the reality was that although this was the first crime on his record, he had done “other stuff” and just hadn’t been caught. He ultimately confessed that he deserved the years in prison.
When I asked him how was life in prison, he laughed as he knew that I imagined it to be like the movies. “The movies were partly true but they exaggerate.” He said, “When I was told that I was about to go to prison, I also thought that I was gonna get killed there…or get beaten up.” The reality was that G was never beaten up in prison. “if you follow the rules and the routine, you’d be fine. People just do what they’re supposed to do.” G explained that most people in the prison acted normally. There were a few aggressive ones, but no big troubles. “They were people that I could talk to.” When I asked him if he made any friends there, he told me “Maybe…but I wouldn’t say friends…acquaintances I guess.” Some of his acquaintances were still in contact with him after coming out of prison, but they were never close. “I’d just say hey what’s up…but it's not like we’re gonna have dinner together or anything.”
During his days in prison, his mother passed away because of diabetes. Again it made him regret the felony that put him in prison. When he finally came out after almost six years, his father also passed away because of cancer. As the only child of the family, he came out unemployed and with no family members to rely on. It was extremely difficult to find a job with a felony charge. He had to find support and welfare from the government and NGOs, such as Amos House and Crossroads, which are nonprofits that worked to assist unhoused individuals including those who have a criminal background like G.
At first, he wasn’t good at it. He remained homeless for about a year until he met his now ex-wife, and together they managed to rent an apartment. However, soon after their marriage, he got into prison again. “So I was in this verbal conflict with my ex-wife…and then it turned a bit physical…and then she claimed that I tried to choke her.”
"But did you?"
Gordon responded with anger, "Of course I didn't!"
After G’s ex-wife contacted the police, G was sent to jail for three and a half years. His wife filed a divorce.
Crossroads Rhode Island, a nonprofit organization that provides housing and housing-related services to over 3,000 people each year.
After he came out in 2019, he decided to change. “I want to better myself.” He established three goals. First, to stay out of trouble. “I don’t want to be in prison again!”. Second, to have a stable income. “I guess I do have a stable income to some extent…but not (sufficient) income.” He pointed to the cup that he got from Chinatown—he used it to contain the money donated by the people walking by. Third, to have housing, which he had, but still struggled to pay for the rent.
“The rent is crazy…it was $700 three years ago after I came out (of the prison) and now it’s like…$1300 and the owner is still thinking of raising it to $1600!” It was nice that G only had to pay $900 per month now, given that he also worked as the community manager for the owner, which allowed him to pay less.
Nevertheless, G still could not afford this amount of rent. Thus, despite begging for money on Thayer Street, he also did “plasma donation”, for which, every Wednesday and Friday he went to donate his blood in a hospital nearby, which allowed him to gain up to $500 a month. He also got a subsidy from the government, via a program called SSI (Supplemental Security Income), which “provided monthly payments to adults and children with a disability or blindness who have income and resources below specific financial limits.” In G’s case, it was mental illness. G claimed to the government that he had a long history of depression and anxiety, which he later told me was "easy to fake". He got $820 per month. In addition to SSI, he also got GPA (General Public Assistance) from State Welfare Program for $200 per month. Adding all that up, he was able to manage his basic housing and everyday needs for most of the time.
“Yes the resources are out there, you just have to find them.” He told me that many homeless people either were not eager to “better themselves” and find resources to receive help, or couldn’t find resources because of the information gap. The access was still limited. “I would suggest doing more outreach…help people know where to get these resources!” He said seriously.
Members of the HOPE student organization carrying supplies for homeless people around Providence
By the end of our conversation, four students walked by. They were a part of the HOPE student organization at Brown that does homeless outreach. “Yes! It’s them! They know my full story!” G’s eyes lit up when he saw the student group. Olivia, the tallest girl with energetic eyes, was holding two boxes. I later learned that these were shoes for homeless people downtown. They obviously knew G very well, as they greeted and hugged each other warmly. They asked about the apartment status of G, the newly built bathroom and showers, and together accused the house owner of wanting to raise the rent. G asked Olivia about her graduation, which was coming soon, and her relationship with her boyfriend.
Although they hadn’t seen each other in a while, they kept texting each other to stay in contact. Olivia was the only contact on many homeless people’s phones, such as B, another man who was experiencing homelessness and begging for money near Chinatown.
G had known B for about 11 years. “Now he is still living in a shelter, but I’ve found a home,” G said as he looked far into the horizon on Thayer Street.
There were many others on this street still looking for a home.
Xuanjie (Coco) Huang, a freshman at Brown who intends to concentrate in International and Public Affairs and purpsue a career in humanitarian and nonprofit journalism.
Commentary
As a student interested in the social and nonprofit sector, I wanted to know more about how marginalized individuals find a place in society and how can people offer help to them. As I walk the streets around Brown, I often see homeless people that I never got a chance to know enough about. Homeless people are usually exposed to high health risks and personal security risks. I feel the urge to dive into their life stories and provide insights about how might people become unhoused, how society plays a factor in it, and most importantly, how these people each have their own unique and unbelievable experiences that can't be summarized by labels or stereotypes. Thus, I interviewed 3 homeless people around Thayer Street and Downtown to tell their stories, along with some student social workers and volunteers who are tackling this social issue. It challenged me to keep the stories objective and external as they were personal and emotional, but it was also rewarding to see that my interviewees were very open to me and brave to show their vulnerability while telling personal stories. They need a voice in society, and their voices are worth hearing.
Source list:
Interview with G, February 24, 2023
Interview with G, February 18, 2023
Observation on HOPE's homeless outreach, May 2nd, 2023
https://www.icrimewatch.net/offenderdetails.php?OfndrID=8180298&AgencyID=56404
https://www.city-data.com/so/so-Providence-Rhode-Island.html
https://dhs.ri.gov/programs-and-services/general-public-assistance
https://ohcd.ri.gov/homelessness
https://homelesslaw.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Homeless_Stats_Fact_Sheet.pdf
Page updated
Report abuse