Without a Home
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Spencer Colby
Team Eisert
Born in Columbus, Ohio, Bryant Fuller spent much of his youth moving from state to state. “My father and my mother were both in and out of my life most of my childhood,” he explained and found that fitting into any place he went was a challenge. “I've always felt alone,” he said.
Like many children growing up in the Midwest, Bryant had dream jobs. In his case, he had two: architect or pilot. “I used to be very artistic,” Bryant said. He made Boeing 747 models from newspapers and spent time between classes building intricate models of racing vehicles and Japanese buildings.
By age 9, he said he was running away and wandering the streets in the middle of the night. Bryant, who is now 26, eventually came to Maryville hoping to be closer to family who lived in neighboring Iowa.
As employment opportunities dwindled Bryant's housing situation became unstable eventually finding himself sleeping on the streets. Maryville, with a population of just over 10,000, has no warming or emergency shelter for those experiencing homelessness.
During the winter, Fuller sleeps under blankets on a deflated air mattress. On windy days, he finds shelter beneath a tarp, in an unlocked shed or inside an abandoned garage. “I want to get a job,” Bryant said adding he wants a place where he can take a warm shower, eat a meal and sleep without having the police called on him.
As Bryant walks the hilly roads of Maryville, a black Bearcats basketball backpack hangs from his shoulder. Buried inside are his light-brown Bible and a small, pocket-sized New Testament.
“God’s my cornerstone,” Bryant said. “I keep trying to tell myself this is all happening for a reason. It’s so I can have a better understanding of who I am and what God’s purpose is for me.” Sitting on a park bench, Bryant holds onto the belief that his life can still come back together. “Eventually, it’ll all come back together,” he said. “My life will come back together.”
Bryant Fuller, 26, looks around the corner as he stands behind the Francis Veterinary Service in Maryville, Mo. Bryant, who has experienced stretches of homelessness since 2016, has used the alleyway to sleep during the night. “I want to work on me. I want to get a job,” explained Bryant.
Bryant throws his phone onto a bag of clothes as he gets out of the cubbyhole he slept in behind the Francis Veterinary Service. “[I want] somewhere I can have a warm shower, a warm meal, somewhere where I don’t not have to worry about the cops being called on me,” he explained.
Bryant closes a bag full of his clothes after folding them inside of City Star Laundry in Maryville. “I just want to live on my own terms,” he explained. Bryant spent many of his formative years moving from state to state and found fitting into any place he went as a challenge, “I've always felt alone,” he added.
Bryant carries bags of clothes into City Star Laundry. After being accused by the Maryville City Police of trespassing on the property of Francis Veterinary Service where he slept, Bryant was forced to pack up his belongings.
Bryant opens a bag of his clothes as he gets ready to fold them at the City Star Laundry. As a result of being homeless Bryant relies on the Ministry Centre’s food and clothing bank. “I learned to not get so attached to items or sentimental things,” Bryant explained. “It’s all going to go back to the earth.”
Bryant sits underneath a pavilion at Happy Hollow Park in Maryville. “God’s my cornerstone,” Bryant said.
Bryant lays on a mattress in the basement of his friend Stephanie’s parents’ home in Maryville after making a meal from canned food. “They've been very kind. They've not asked me for anything in return. They've genuinely wanted to help,” Bryant explained.
Bryant carries his bags across S Main Street in Maryville. After the Maryville City Police asked him to move from the vet where he slept, Fuller was forced to pack up his belongings and find another sleeping location.
Bryant folds a camouflage tarp at his tent near the grounds of Northwest Missouri State University. Maryville does not have a warming or emergency shelter.
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