‘Boris’ is tall and big, buck-toothed friendly. Brown-skinned, face reminiscent of a chimp. A white baseball cap crowns his buzz cut, his small eyes shining warmly.
He had to leave after a brief conversation at Church Under the Bridge. Here’s a snippet.
-Do you come here every week usually?
Yeah, especially if I’m low on supplies. Especially when I know they’re coming, I come and pick up hygiene and stuff.
-How often do they come?
I think it’s one every two or three weeks. There’s another group that comes, but if you need hygiene supplies, this is the week to come.
-So you’re usually able to get some supplies and stuff you need?
Yeah, yeah! And they always got food—coffee, food, and donuts. It helps out. Because that’s what everybody thinks—even you get a place, you still need a job. And then, while you’re waiting on your first paycheck, you still need stuff to survive until you get paid. So it keeps you busy.
-What’s your situation right now?
Well, I just got an apartment. The thing about it is, where I live, there’s not a lot of stuff [jobs] out there. You gotta take what you can get.
-What sort of job did you use to have?
Oh, I used to work at the IRS. Like, when they have the temporary positions that they hire for. But Trump made an order: there was a hiring freeze, and that killed all that. This time last year, I was working, and I applied this year and I got deferred, and then right before we were supposed to get started—the hiring freeze. So now I got to start all over again. See, it isn’t necessarily bad for me. I got preference because I’m a veteran.
-Oh really? What branch did you serve in?
The army. I used to be stationed near Fort Hood.
-Did you like it?
Oh yeah. I wish I could go back. And that’s the thing too—there’s a preference that we pick, but God only knows how long the hiring freeze is going to be. Hopefully it doesn’t last much longer.
-Do you know when you’re hoping to be able to find a job?
I think next month. Cause that’s when I get my house. And that’s one of the requirements that the VA has when you’re getting a job. It doesn’t matter what kind of job that is, as long as it’s general.
-Does the VA not help you find jobs?
Eh, they don’t really do that. They refer you to different agencies.
-Are they usually helpful though? I’ve heard it’s slow.
It is what it is. You get what you get from them. But you just gotta use what’s left for you. Usually anything they got covered, they’ll refer you back to another agency. It’s just hard to do all that stuff without a car. Cause you’re stuck on the bus, and the VA doesn’t give out 30-day bus passes. But then if you somehow do get a 30-day bus pass, you can’t get another one for six months. You’re good for 30 days, then you come back with zero.
– Sounds like a sticky situation.
Yeah, that’s what I’m saying. If you take what you can get, depending on where you live, because at least if you’re working, you can buy your own bus passes, and you don’t have to depend on non-profits.
-And you can have more independence.
Right. At least you have some money to make.
-How do you pay rent for your apartment without a job?
Oh, vouchers. Section 8 for homeless people. They’ve been able to help. They’ll cover a portion, and then I have a portion: it’s usually between like $55 to $60 that I pay.
-I’m actually working on a research paper about housing, and I read that Section 8 gives you better choice about where you want to live.
Right, and it depends on your voucher. Vouchers. Because of course, the more you can get for your voucher, the nicer apartment you can find, the less your voucher, you can end up in Rundberg somewhere. But it is what it is—at least you’re not out there on the street.
-Better than nothing, right?
You gotta be careful about where you’re moving into. I’ve heard of a lot of people talking about a lot of drugs in an area, and they’re like no, you don’t want to move out here.
-Is it better to be homeless almost than to live in those places?
No, it’s never better to be homeless. At least you can go in and lock your stuff up. But smoking, or doing anything illegal, you can lose your voucher. It’s crazy.
How long have you had your apartment?
Almost a year and a half now.
Were you homeless before?
Yeah. About 6 years. Because it depends on where you are, and when you can get your voucher. And then, how many veterans are ahead of you. So you gotta wait. But VA has transitional housing down here, where they can have their own doors. So you may start out at the ARCH, but then you move into transitional housing, where you can stay for up to six months, then you can get a voucher and then start working. So at least you have shelter.
-It took them six years to get you a voucher?
No, I was moving around a lot. Because especially at these shelters, they’re so messed up.
-I heard there’s a lot of drug problems around.
A lot. A lot. And then too, the security they have, they are not police. And they really don’t care if anything gets stolen.
He had to go, but we promised to keep in touch.