[Name changed for confidentiality]
Have you heard someone say, “We’re all one paycheck away from…” and thought, “Nah, it won’t happen to me; I have (XYZ).” This month, I chatted with William, who, despite being a professional contractor, actively working, and having a supportive family, was met with physical challenges that ended up costing him his home, his savings, and years of fighting for Social Security Disability.
Before the pandemic, William was building his sisters’ house in Southern Oregon. Once completed, he moved back to his hometown of Bend, and quickly started working with realtors and builders. He owned his own contracting business, and did well for himself, until he started having some nagging back pain. The pain quickly became debilitating just as pandemic shutdowns started in 2020.
Though he could barely walk- every 50 feet he would need to lay down to give himself relief- he wasn’t able to get the medical care he needed. With all non-essential medical care getting pushed to the side, his symptoms couldn’t have come at a more difficult time. Everything took longer to schedule, and with insurance requirements, he first had to have an x-ray, then an MRI, even though it was clear he needed the MRI from the get-go.
It took William 12 months to get an x-ray. It took him 2 years to have the back surgery needed to relieve the pressure created by a bubble in his spinal column, pushing on his spinal cord.
The pain was too great to keep working, so he started reaching out everywhere he could think of for support to stay afloat. By piecing together local support and federal pandemic funding to pay for rent and utilities, he was able to get by for a while, but then pandemic-related funding started to dry up. He also applied for Social Security Disability (SSDI) in 2020. When his surgery finally came and he was still going through the SSDI process, he started to whittle down the savings that he had - thinking that surely he would be approved any day.
About a year ago, William had to leave his rental and move into his car. SSDI still hadn’t come through. He struggled with his Social Security lawyers, feeling like they just didn’t care. One of them even told him that most people he worked with were living in their cars. The bureaucracy of the SSDI process leaves applicants, and often lawyers, feeling worn down and angry.
William had never experienced homelessness before, and he struggled with what he saw while living in his vehicle. He tried to find quiet parking lots, so he wouldn’t be faced with other folks struggling with addictions. He started carrying Narcan with him in case he came upon someone that needed it. He lent a hand a few times to folks, but then realized that in doing so, he was making himself a target. He now struggles with insomnia - no doubt related to his year living in his vehicle.
In January, though he doesn’t even remember her doing it, his CHW at Mosaic in Redmond helped him sign up for the Housing Choice Voucher lottery. To his sheer amazement, he was selected for one of the first vouchers this year. When he received his voucher he was referred to Thrive through our contract with Housing Works. We help folks apply for and lease-up using their vouchers. He started working with Maya, who was new to the job at that point. He admits that he was a bit worried at first because she was new. “But then she just dug in and really pulled through” and ended up being his greatest asset in the process.
“She is AWESOME,” William says of Maya. “Whatever she does for her life she’s going to be successful at it”. He says he was always confident that he could contact her and that she was a wealth of information in the Housing Voucher process. The process itself has a huge learning curve, with so many different details and nuances when applying for rentals.
William ended up applying for a lot of rentals, trying to get first in line for a unit that fell in the Voucher specifications. About a month ago, he moved into a rental in Bend. It’s in a good location, quiet, but the rental company is one of the worst. The rental company charges exorbitant fees and deposits and requires them immediately. Many companies require a “deposit to hold” a unit, but this rental company tends to charge additional fees and skirt the law. William was able to use his family’s credit cards to pay what was needed quickly, as he was coming close to his voucher expiration date and if he didn’t use it, he would lose it.
It’s not his ideal living situation, but William is grateful that he is no longer in his truck. Having seen a lot on the streets over the past year, he’s working on taking care of himself and trying to get a good nights’ sleep. He is also still waiting for SSDI. This January he finally reaches the judge determination level, when hopefully his case will be approved 🤞.
Though he’s not sure what lessons he was supposed to learn over the last 4 years, he has some advice for others struggling out there:
“Pull up your boots and hold on”
He also wants folks to know that if they are in the throes of addiction, “please get help to get clean, because you can’t do anything when you’re struggling like that”.
Thank you so much for sharing yourself with us, William!
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