It just depends on the weather: Gene's Story

I stand to greet Gene. Immediately I knew he is different.

His crystal blue eyes cut me. Behind them is a story. Within them you can see every ounce of hope, fear, love and work ethic he encompasses. I brace myself. His reasons for being homeless I knew, were extraordinary.

Never before has Gene been homeless, jobless or without his family. But for the last two months he has resided in downtown Columbus, Ohio. His ex-wife, two daughters, brothers and parents are missing him in Florida. Gene needed to start bottom up after his divorce. Before he and his wife had good jobs but still lived paycheck-to-paycheck to make ends meet. He raised, bred and cared for horses and even had four of his own.

"Were still friends. We just couldn't live together anymore. After eight years people grow and sometimes they grow apart."

His friend told him that if he needed to start bottom-up Columbus is the place to go. Florida does not have the facilities that we do. Apparently they charge the homeless, those down on their luck without homes and jobs, to pay money each night if they stay in a shelter.

"How are you going to charge someone who has no place to sleep or job $8 a night for shelter?"

After all, shelter living is not like a hotel stay. There can be violence, no privacy and as Gene puts it, they are uncleanly, "Nasty places. There's so much bacteria and germs no one keeps them clean." This is partially due to a lack of funding and the lack of effort by some of the residents. Gene has even witnessed shelter victims being abused by staff.

That life often has an adverse reaction.

"I've seen decent citizens result to stealing and selling drugs. Now they're criminals. No, they're just trying to survive."

This raises a question: are people homeless because they are and commit taboos in society, or because society has led them in that direction?

Getting a job is even harder. Gene currently has found a temporary place at the YMCA. But The homeless in the downtown area do not have transportation and must find jobs in that vicinity.

"You have to put down a shelter address and a lot of the employers recognize it. They crumble it up [the application] and throw it away. They assume that just because you live in a shelter you are an alcoholic, a drug addict or just getting out of prison. You come across a lot of discrimination downtown. Then again, there are people out there that are decent. I guess it just depends on the weather."

Inevitably Gene says he is going to pull through this and become a stronger person. What bothers me the most is that he has to. The government wastes so much money, especially during recent events, and the working poor and homeless are the ones that suffer.

"They think that you're not trying hard enough and that you don't care. That is true in some cases, some people don't want to do anything. But then there are those of us who are trying. Trying hard."