Date: 3/3/2018
Type: Interview
Location: Downtown Soup Kitchen at First United Methodist Church
User Description: Paul and Yuwei interviewed James, a homeless disabled man living in the South Bend area. James shared his experiences and views on being homeless.
User Characteristic: Homeless in South Bend, Male, approximately age 50, and single.
What has been this individuals living situation?
He has been living day to day without a home for the last fifteen years. He sleeps in different places that offer a him a bed in South Bend. On Monday and Friday he eats at the downtown food soup kitchen while on the other days he eats at Mishawaka food pantry.
What is this person’s biggest pain?
He is disabled and cannot work. His disability check is not enough to adequately live on. He gets 400 dollars a month, which he says is not enough to live and have a home.
Key Takeaways:
– A lot of homeless people are disabled and cannot work. People with a disability receive less money than those on social security.
– The homeless in South Bend do not go hungry since there are many places to get food like the downtown food pantry in South Bend or the Mishawaka food pantry.
– People come from everywhere to be part of the homeless center in South Bend. States people from different cities are given bus tickets to South Bend.
-Takes a long time to apply for social security in Indiana and often requires lawyers if you are homeless.
– People with felonies cannot get social assistance like social security.
– If you have a felony you require a payee, a trusted person who will give you money to make sure you are not spending it on drugs
Memorable Quotes
“A lot of people choose to be homeless, they got money.” Here James explains that people with drug addictions or felonies do not have access to the center for the homeless and other facilities.