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Home >> United States & Canada >> Economics & Trade David vs Goliath; Homeowner Forced to Live on the Streets Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. - 3/3/2008 Neatly dressed and immaculately groomed, Joe Calkins shatters any stereotype image you may have had of a homeless person. The Road to HomelessnessIn a recent interview, Calkins told me the story of his quick descent into homelessness. Calkins said his house was inspected on Dec. 7 and a notice of code violation was sent a week later, which he received at his post office box on Dec. 16. Calkins said he had known for a long time he needed to work on his cluttered house, and had already been planning some changes. “However, after a while it became too overwhelming to continue. That’s why the heating and electricity are partially installed,” he said. Calkins explained why routine tasks which come easy for many people are insurmountable obstacles for Calkins and the millions like him who suffer from depression. He said, “If I go to a stack of stuff and try to put it away, my mind goes blank ... Even changing the oil in the car would be overwhelming. I was like that for a year.” Calkins added, “My house was too cluttered because I had a ‘brain lock,’ and the medications I was taking were putting me to sleep. And I felt like I was a bad person because I was sleeping all the time.” Calkins said he wondered what had happened to him, and whether there was a way out. I asked Calkins to tell me a little more about what it has been like for him living with depression. He said it’s much more than just having a bad day. “It’s like nothing cheers you up,” he said. “Exercise doesn't help or the latest fad diets. (One day I) got up and reached to the drawer under my bed for a pair of underwear. I got the underwear and had it in my hand and couldn’t remember what I was supposed to do with it. Then once I figured (that out), it still took me a little while to dress.” Calkins said the day after receiving the notice he called the code enforcement inspector and asked him what he needed to do to stay in his house. Calkins said the inspector told him to make sure the windows could be opened and remove the back porch and its covering. That, Calkins said, was something he thought he could manage to do. To achieve his goal, he worked right through Christmas. However, Calkins said his hope was shattered the day after Christmas when the inspector returned and asked him more questions. The result was that Calkins said he was told to move out by 5 p.m. the next day because he had no heat. Calkins said he started to panic and wonder where he could go. Not surprisingly, he didn’t sleep very well on the night of Dec. 26. Buying Some TimeGoing to work the next day, Calkins said he tried to figure out where he could stay but realized that filing an appeal would buy him some time. He didn’t know initially how long it would give him, but he filed the necessary paperwork and started working “assiduously” on the heating. Calkins noted that while he was doing so, it was in sub-freezing temperatures while wearing insulated coveralls. Calkins found out in mid-Jan. that his hearing would be on Feb.7. He said, “I kept on working doing my best. I figured that since I had made progress they would take that into account.” However, that wasn’t to be and after a vote from the city officials who attended the meeting Calkins’ appeal was denied and he learned that he had about two hours to move out. The Homeowner Becomes HomelessCalkins said, “I felt some bitterness but I said ‘thank you.’ I went back to my house, grabbed a change of clothes for the next day and left. I made sure that my cats were fed.” Since being ordered to vacate his home, Calkins has been sleeping in his clothes in a neighborhood cubbyhole. He’s continued to work on his heating, but despite calling a number of area plumbers said he has yet to receive any calls back. Calkins Speaks OutI asked Calkins how he felt about being ordered to move out with such short notice, and whether he thought it showed a lack of forethought on the city’s part about giving him such a quick deadline with no real options. Calkins said that city officials were well aware of what they were doing when they told him to vacate his house. He said, “It comes down to valuing engineering above people. We’ve gone back to the medieval times when the lord could do to his peasants whatever he wanted to. We need a social change in this country so that people are considered before buildings.” I asked Calkins what he would say to people who would say that city officials had no choice but to order him out, as he could have died due to a lack of heat in his house. Calkins said, “A place with no heat is better than a place on the street. It's safe and sheltered. It's a home. I felt safe in my house. I would not get asphyxiated. I had carbon monoxide protectors. I was behind locked doors in a warm bed. Now I'm not. ” Calkins said he has a message for the city. “The Latin definition of the word ‘sin’ is to miss your target. ‘So if you're trying to keep people safe then you're missing your target.’” Reflecting on his still ongoing experience, Calkins said he’s learned that he’s tougher than he thought but also more vulnerable than he ever imagined. But he ended our time together on an upbeat note and said he would like readers to understand that he considers himself lucky. “There are people out there who are descending into mental illness,” he said, “and they are being thrown out into the streets where their only option is to die.” My TakeCity Planning Director Richard Dineen told the Albuquerque Journal that some people may not realize they are a danger to themselves. Operating by that philosophy, the city was able to give a hard-working long-time homeowner with a history of chronic depression two hours to move out of his home onto the streets of Albuquerque. It seems to me that the city is a greater danger to Calkins’ safety than he is. I am amazed at how well Calkins has apparently been coping with his homelessness, but am concerned about the long term effects on his already fragile emotional state. However, I am surprised that people have not rushed forward to help him after a well written and sympathetic front page article in a recent Albuquerque Journal. Is an initial failure to respond to Calkins’ plight due to a lack of community compassion, or just an inability to know how to help? With the ongoing generosity from New Mexicans and the goodness of the Lord allowing us to sustain Joy Junction for over two decades, I opt for the latter explanation. With that in mind, I am appealing to community minded people to rally behind Calkins and make sure his “fixer upper” gets fixed up. |
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