Panhandler's dream is to have apartment, job

By John Howell
Posted 8/30/16

A single cigarette rests on the zippered backpack. It's there for when Jacobie [not his real name] takes a break. That's not going to happen for another half hour, because Jacobie - who wears blue shorts flecked with white paint and a dark

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Panhandler's dream is to have apartment, job

Posted

A single cigarette rests on the zippered backpack. It’s there for when Jacobie [not his real name] takes a break.

That’s not going to happen for another half hour, because Jacobie – who wears blue shorts flecked with white paint and a dark t-shirt – is panhandling. Rows of cars stopped at the intersection of East Avenue and Route 2 stretch in front of him. It’s mid-morning, and the shopping crowd is starting to fill what has been called Warwick’s miracle mile.

Drivers stare straight ahead, windows closed, as if they don’t see Jacobie. He doesn’t make eye contact, either. He holds the homeless cardboard sign in front of his chest.

Jacobie has been taking a RIPTA bus to the same spot since July, arriving at the post as early as 6:37 a.m. – he has the time down to the minute – and staying until about 1 p.m. He then heads to a restaurant that won’t cast a critical eye on his scruffy, yet clean, appearance.

“The people here get it,” he says of his homeless condition. He said the police don’t harass him. Some wave and one even gave him a buck. He said people are generous. There are repeat donors and words of encouragement. He’s gotten a couple of jobs, too. One motorist had him help clean out a garage while another had him do some painting. That’s how the paint ended up on his shorts.

There have been a few instances in which people yelled at him, and one case in which a drink was thrown at him.

But, by and large, the East Avenue and Route 2 post is a good place for panhandling. Jacobie can’t say the same for many Cranston and Providence corners, where motorists aren’t as friendly and the street folks can be a lot tougher. He avoids Kennedy Plaza, which he said is a hangout for drug addicts, and he’s careful at Harrington Hall, the homeless shelter where he spends the night.

“My stuff got ripped off and they treat us like garbage,” he said.

He hasn’t lost his smartphone, however.

Jacobie realizes it sounds incongruous that a homeless man panhandling has a smartphone. He explains the phone is his lifeline to his friends, to what’s happening, and to Craigslist, where he searches for jobs. With no address for billing, Jacobie prepays for time.

He’s got some money to do it, too. Jacobie says daily contributions – most of it a dollar at a time – can total $100. He follows a straight regimen, setting aside $20 for his daily expenses such as his lunch and cigarettes while saving the rest toward an apartment.

He’s cautious about talking about money for fear that someone might go after him. He makes it understood it’s not on him and in a safe place. That’s street smarts.

But Jacobie, at 34 years old, is also book smart. He attended two institutions of higher learning and said he earned a bachelor’s degree in science from UMass. In his last job, he was at a woodworking company. After being laid off he looked for work and did some part-time jobs, but relatively soon after depleted his savings. For a while he volunteered at the Providence Boys and Girls Club teaching guitar and art. And then, with no income and no apartment, he was on the street and forced to panhandle.

“People think I like coming out. It’s humiliating.” He doesn’t want his face photographed, nor does he want his real named used for this story.

Jacobie has family in Massachusetts. He doesn’t volunteer information about them, but the impression is that they don’t know of his circumstances. He does mention his brother, who also is homeless. He said his brother is a drug addict and undergoing treatment.

Asked about his own condition, Jacobie said he doesn’t do drugs. After a pause, he says, “mental illness.” He said he is looking into treatment, although the impression is that he still has doubts as to what to do.

“I didn’t want to accept the fact that I had it,” he says.

Jacobie suggests there should be meaningful programs to help the homeless find affordable housing and a job. The programs offered at Harrington Hall he finds useless, adding that all they do is “line the pockets” of the instructors.

Jacobie looks down the line of stopped cars. No windows open. There are no extended hands holding money, yet he’s not critical.

“There are some regulars,” he said, “some who give a couple of bucks. These are very nice, kind people.”

Comments

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  • wwkvoter

    a hard life for sure but something tells me that he does not have a "bachelors degree in science from umass".

    Tuesday, August 30, 2016 Report this

  • wwkvoter

    "Asked about his own condition, Jacobie said he doesn’t do drugs. After a pause, he says, “mental illness.” He said he is looking into treatment, although the impression is that he still has doubts as to what to do."

    Thats the real issue. And with many mental illnesses, the person cannot be expected to rationally seek the right help on their own, because they often cant. They need outreach people to go to them and clarify the options, urge them to take the choice for getting help.

    Tuesday, August 30, 2016 Report this