Focus Group-CFH Day Center

Colleen: So, I’m here with George, Robert and Olin from the Day Center in Bellevue, and we’re just going to talk a little bit about your experience. I’d just like to kind of go around, and if you could take a minute or two to just kind of tell your story about why you’re here today, kind of what got you here, where you came from. You know, any little just sort of something about who you are and what you’re doing here. That would be a great start.

George: Well, my name is George Myers [sp] and I live in Redmond. And my story, well like I was doing good, and eventually I had a relapse. And I’m not blaming nobody, or nothing and I was clean for ten years. And I had a relapse and I lost my job, and now I’m better. I found me another job. I’m trying to get on my feet. I come to this place here, just to take a shower and to have breakfast. And usually, I go back out and look for a job. Because I can’t sit in no library all day, and I can’t just walk around town doing nothing. I feel like I’m wasting my time doing that.

And I feel like I can’t fly a sign [sounds like], because I won’t do that. Just I have some kind of pride about myself. My thing is I’ve been cooking for forty years, so I feel like I got from eight o’clock to two o’clock to go find me a job. And I can’t make nobody hire me. I can only fill out the application, and give them my resume, and let it go from there. Now, I done met a few people in Redmond, where I went there and tell them I’m homeless. And the next thing I know, they showing me the front door, but I’m not mad. I just say hey, this is their business and they can do what they want. You know, man.

But if I try not to lie, I try to tell them the truth and sometimes, it comes back to bite me in the butt. And I say to myself, well I should have just lied. Then I say no, eventually he’s going to come back and catch me anyway, so I’d rather just tell the truth.

Okay, I can give a good example. Last night, I got hired at Denny’s. Yeah, for four days straight, this man had me come there every day. He just wanted to see how bad I wanted the job. And I told him look, you know, the night before last, I told him the truth. It was hurting my head. I was getting a headache, sitting here trying to lie to him.

And I just couldn’t do it no more. I said look, I’m going to tell you the truth. I said look, I stay in a cubby-hole right back here behind this bridge. You know what I’m saying? And I told him everything. He say, you could have been [inaudible words] first, and he said, I figured that when you first came in here. He said, I was just waiting for you to tell me too. See, he already knew. You know, man? But see, something told me, George, you need to tell the truth.

It was just eating at me. I mean, just the day before yesterday, I’d sit there and it would just tear me up. I said, I need to go tell this man the truth. And when I told him, he hired me. You know what I’m saying? I was cool with that, and he even fed me. He said man, I know you’re hungry. Go ahead. I’m going to give you, order something off the menu. At first, I was going to say no. He said no, don’t let your pride get you. He said, don’t let your pride get you. He fed, I finished my paperwork, came here and told what’s his name this morning.

Colleen: Good for you. That’s great. Congratulations.

George: Thank you.

Colleen: Olin?

Olin: Me, I’m a busted up unit. I used to enjoy the extreme sports. My jobs were dangerous. I used to climb trees. I used to ride horses on the tracks in New Mexico, Phoenix, and California. And I’ve done all kinds of stuff, and I was a ski patrolman, and just I loved the danger. My body got busted up really good, and I can’t do the things that I used to be able to do. I’m disabled. I can’t run anymore. I can’t ski no more. I can’t do nothing. So I went to the bottle.

And that’s basically, I have bouts with that, and I’ll get sober for a while. And then I mean, like a couple of years ago, I had three years’ sobriety and I just couldn’t stand it no more. I told this social worker one time some stuff about me, and I won’t go into that right now. But I mean, it pains me right here, that I can’t do that stuff no more. I mean, sometimes I just figure, what else is there for me to do but drink? I mean, it just changes my head, changes the way I think. And it brings me up a little the next morning. I have a hangover and I don’t like it. Yeah, I mean.

Colleen: How did you end up here in East King County?

Olin: Well, before I was diagnosed with bilateral avascular necrosis of the hips, I was invited up to Alaska to do some caribou hunting. And when I got here to Seattle, I called my Eskimo buddy up there. And he said, you know what? This is a bad time. I don’t think you could come up right now, because we’re having some really bad family problems. So, I just got stuck here. And I mean, I found a job climbing trees and I was making good money. And then in, what was it, ‘03, I got diagnosed with avascular necrosis.

And I mean gradually, from that point to 2005, January 2005, I couldn’t walk without two canes. And I’m pretty ambulatory now, but I still can’t run. I still can’t do the things that I used to love to do. And it hurts, yeah. So, I suppose I could do some light labor, or light duties, or go back to school. But I mean, my mom went back to school, graduate school at sixty years old. And, I mean, my mom’s my hero. But I just don’t see myself doing that, because I tried to go to college. I did a semester at Oklahoma University. I did a semester at UNM. I’m still floating a 3.5 GPA. I just couldn’t sit in class for a couple of hours at a time.

Colleen: Do you mind saying how old you are?

Olin: I’m forty-seven. Yeah. I’m still young. I mean, especially to have two brand new hips.

Colleen: Which you have?

Olin: Yeah. And they wanted to replace my knee. I got a bad knee. This is just a different story altogether.

Colleen: Is that a broken wrist?

Olin: No, it’s nerve damage.

Colleen: Nerve damage?

Olin: Rotary nerve. Yeah. I get mad when I’m drunk, and this time, I just hit a post.

Colleen: Hurt yourself, okay.

Olin: Yeah.

Colleen: Robert?

Robert: When I came here to cleaned up. Well, I try to stay clean. I try to stay neat, keep my hair short, just like George. And because I found out if I don’t let myself get down and out from being down and out, it makes it easier to look for work, get on my feet. People look at you differently. If you look down and out, most people are going to treat you that way.

If you’re always looking neat and clean, and you’re respectful, then people later on find out you’re homeless, they’re likely to say well, he’s trying to do something. You seem different. But anyway, I’ve been going to school and a lot for a while. And last year, I started working steady, and I wanted to get my own business going. I was doing temp work, keeping money in my pocket. And then I got injured, twisted my knee real bad, and I couldn’t work all summer. And it took me almost until November where I could walk right.

And so now, I’m just getting back on my feet. I’m just starting to do some more temp work, and I’m going to just pick up the pieces and move on. You know, I’m not all depressed and beat up. I don’t need to drink every day, because I’m a failure, and all the more failure because I drink. I just need to keep putting one foot in front of the other. If I had to work the rest of my life doing temp work, as long as I could stay neat and clean, and get me a little place to stay at, I could live with that. And that’s where I am right now.

Colleen: Do you have a place to stay now?

Robert: No.

Colleen: And are you from this area, or did you come here from somewhere else?

Robert: Most of my family lives around here, but we’re military brats. So we’ve lived all over. I was born overseas, but my brother’s in Kirkland. My sisters and relatives went to Bellevue High School. I was studying tech stuff at Bellevue College, and we have strong ties to the community. But like I said, I was born in Japan. I’m not a native whatever. I’m not a Japanese. I’m not a native Seattleite either, or a Bellevue either.

Colleen: You guys are all, obviously, here today at the Day Center. So, what would you say about the importance or the value of this place? Is it important? What does it do for you? What’s missing from it?

Robert: It’s almost indispensable.

Colleen: And why do you say that?

Robert: As long as you can stay clean.

Colleen: Just stay clean?

Robert: If you want to go looking for work, it’s a lot easier. I mean, who would want you to come in stinking, filthy clothes and you’re going to work in their business?

George: Well see, the first thing they do, okay. Okay, my thing is like he’s saying, okay, now how you come through and take a shower, and go look for a job. But now, if I can’t go take a shower and I have got clothes on that smell, most likely, you ain’t even going to let me get past the front door. And okay, like some people come here now, and I’m not judging nobody. But I’m just saying, some people here just come here just to hang out. See? I come here for a reason to take a shower.

Then once I eat breakfast, then I leave to go look for a job. Because my thing here, see, last year I was outside. And it was cold, but I did it to myself. See, I don’t like handouts. I don’t like people giving me something for nothing. I have to earn that. You know what I’m saying? That’s my manhood or something, I don’t know, my respect for myself. Because I don’t like people saying, like okay, now like the other day, I ran into somebody. He swore up and down, that he wanted to fight me, that I said, because he said well, let me get some [inaudible]. I said, I don’t got no [inaudible], man. He said well, you to work. I said no, I’m homeless just like you. No you ain’t, you lying. He told me to my face, I was lying to him. He wanted to fight me, because I kept saying man, I’m homeless. He said, no you ain’t. Look how nice you dress. You know what I’m saying? Look at your clothes. You ain’t homeless. I said man, what do a homeless person supposed to do? Walk around looking bad all the time? I don’t understand that.

My thing is when I first got out here, I had met a guy. He was on the street, and I tried to help him. I even went and got a motel room. The people wouldn’t let him come past the front door. And that’s what made me open my eyes up and say now, if you’re homeless, you don’t have to be homeless. You got to have some kind of pride about yourself. Because see, like I met somebody else here, and they was telling me, they wanted my advice on something. Like the sister was coming out here, but he’s homeless, been home a few years, you know.

I said now, why would you wait until your sister get all the way on the airplane, come all the way out here. And then she meet you at the airport, and then she come to stay with you and you tell her, oh, I’m homeless. Wouldn’t it have made more sense to tell her the truth up front? But he feel like, if he tell her the truth, they going to lose respect for him. Man, don’t start lying to them from Jump Street. Get it out, because see, maybe they be able to help you. He’s saying well, I don’t want them helping me like that. I said, if she come out here and find out that you’re homeless, brother, you’re going to do more damage than good. You just don’t understand that.

So he seen me this morning. He said yeah, George, I thought about what you said. I went and called my sister and told her the truth. He said well, she was crying. She hung up on me. But she called him back. And she told him, she said, if you need some help, why you just don’t come home and we’ll get you right? But he said, he’s thinking about it. I said man, look, if she sends you a bus ticket, get on the bus, and go home, and do what you need to do. Get your life together. Because I’m sixty years old, and you can look at me and say, you don’t look sixty.

Colleen: You do not look sixty.

George: You see what I’m saying? I met a guy yesterday telling me that, he’s man, you sixty? He said wow, you look good for sixty. But then he told me his age. He was forty-five. He all broke down. He told me, he said man, you know, I’ve done drugs and all this. He said, what is your secret? I said bro, every day the Good Lord watches over me. And I said, if you want to do better in your life, you got to take them steps yourself.

You can’t wait for somebody to hand you something, because sometimes, it’s just not going to come. If somebody, like he said, if they see you making an effort, then they’ll say okay, well, George made an effort. I’m going to help him on a little bit more. But if he just sit there and say, oh, I ain’t doing nothing today. I’m going to go over here and get high today, or I’m just going to sit up at the library all day and do this.

No, because see, you’d be surprised who watching you. You’d be surprised. Then they’re like, boy, she was hearing about the library. I knew everything that was going on about that library, just sitting back watching. And I see how the people’s doing the kid. But see, they wouldn’t do me like that, you know. They look at me, oh, you know, he’s working. But I’m just like them. But see, it’s the way I carry myself.

Colleen: So, you said you got a job starting yesterday, first day you got hired?

George: No, well I got hired. I finished my paperwork. Then I start tomorrow I’m on at seven o’clock.

Woman: He’s there tomorrow morning.

Colleen: So, you’re going to be a cook at Denny’s.

George: Um-hmm.

Colleen: And what’s next from there?

George: Oh, no, that don’t stop, oh, no, that don’t stop there, see, no, because, see, as soon as you finish, see, I wasn’t going to stay for your thing, because, see, I got to go here at two o’clock, see. I’m going there for another job interview today at two o’clock.

Colleen: Is that in Seattle, Fred Hutch?

George: Yes. See, my thing is Denny’s just like, I have a saying about myself. Denny’s just like a job where I’m crawling. I’m trying to get on my feet. See, Denny’s is to get me started. Once I get this one here, then I’ll tell Denny’s, thank you for the time that you all gave me to start, but now I need to go here, because Denny’s paying me $12.50. Hutch is going to be paying me $14 if I get hired there.

So, I got to go where the money’s at because here the cost of living is really high. And I have this thing, Seattle have thirty days of summer, only thirty days. No, I’m being honest, thirty days of summer, and before you know it, here it get cold. And I can’t do another winter outside. I refuse to do that. I can’t do it. I won’t. Colleen: You were outside last winter?

George: Yes.

Colleen: You didn’t go to the winter shelter?

George: No, I won’t do that. I can’t sleep with a bunch of men. I can’t. I’ve been in prison before. It just to me, I use shelters as my driving point. I do. Okay, and if my thing is if I go in there and the first couple of them, no, I can’t do this, George. You need to go out here and find you a job and get your own place. You see what I’m saying there? See, that’s my drive right there.

If I see this guy, I’ve been seeing this guy for, like, two years; I’ve been here almost two-and-a-half years, the same person doing the same thing. I’m not going to let myself fall into that category. I won’t, because I’ll probably say George, no, you got to do something, because see, I want to be able to go in my apartment, open up the door and go in myself. If I got to rent a room or something, at least I’m off the streets.

Colleen: You don’t have a room now though?

George: No. Now, my thing is now I stay over there by Microsoft under the bridge. Police know I’m there. Microsoft know I’m there. They don’t bother me. But, see, every morning, they see me get up. I see them. I mean like they be trying to be hiding. But I don’t make it no secret. Like one night, police pulled up, I told him the truth, gave him my ID. He ran it. Oh, you’re good, he say, as long as you don’t break in the building. So, I’m looking at him. I’m not trying to break in. I’m just trying to get some rest so I can go look for a job. He see me this morning. He said, I see you got a job. I saw you last night. Well, yeah, I know, I saw you sitting out there in the car.

Colleen: Do the two of you use shelters or do you stay outside instead of staying in the shelter?

Olin: Once in a while, I’ll use the shelter, but I like to stay outside myself.

Colleen: And why is that?

Olin: You don’t have to wake up at a certain time. You don’t have to be in at a certain time. It’s just you can do what you want.

George: And you don’t have people stealing your stuff either.

Olin: Yeah.

Colleen: What about in the winter in the weather? Olin: As long as I got some warmth, I’m fine.

Colleen: You’re okay.

Olin: I’ve camped out in 20 below before. It’s nothing to me.

Colleen: You’re the extreme guy.

Olin: Oh, yeah, I love that.

George: Well, no, I call it being a mountain man, being a mountain man.

Olin: That’s what my sister calls me.

George: Yeah, being a mountain man. That’s what my brother calls me, being a mountain man. Okay, so now, I have another thing.

Colleen: No, let me talk with Robert too, about that. What’s your take on shelters?

Robert: I avoid shelters. I stayed the whole winter this year because like I said, I was getting over my injuries. But I avoid shelters, if possible, because they’re depressing. You’re around people who are…

George: There you go.

Robert: …drug users. Or you have a handful of people that are clearly psychotic. They have some kind of problems and the environment is depressing. And sometimes there are people up all night talking. I don’t know, I’ve heard that they shut down the facilities for people who should be in asylums, insane asylums. Or they shut it down some years ago since a lot of them are on the streets.

And when they’re up all night or the people who are using the methamphetamines and they’re babbling, it makes it difficult to get quality rest and, like I said, the main thing is it makes me depressed and I’m not a depressed person by nature. I don’t need the medication. But, when I’m around all this screwy thinking, you can’t have an intelligent, even a simple conversation. There’s always got to be some kind of goofy, crazy. It drives me crazy being around them.

Colleen: When’s the last time you had a place to stay inside?

Robert: Oh, about a year.

Colleen: How about you, Olin?

Olin: Year and a half.

Colleen: George?

George: About a year.

Colleen: About a year? What were you going to go on to? I’m sorry; I cut you off a minute ago.

George: No, see, like he was just saying, okay, you’re trying to get you some rest so you can get up the next morning and go look for a job. But, if somebody’s sitting there acting crazy and talking crazy, that’s frustrating, very frustrating. And you saying, damn and you can’t say nothing to, because, see, if you say something, they’ll probably, oh, they’ll be wanting to go off and they’ll be ready to fight. And I ain’t trying to hear all that. That’s just too much of a headache. Like he said, I try to avoid that.

Now, my thing, as long as I can get me a good couple hours of sleep, I’m good to go. I’m just ready to wake up, hit the trail. You know what I’m saying? But, like I say, because see, me and him used to stay at the same shelter at this church. And it was cool at first. Then all of a sudden, it just got too much like politics. You know what I’m saying? I’m not [inaudible words] politics.

My thing was see, I was working, but they come up with you got to do this chore and you got to do this chore. And I’m saying to myself, look, you got people here who ain’t working. Let them do the chores. I get up and go to work every day. That’s how I look at it. If you’re working and you’re staying in the shelter, why I got to do chores, man? I’m trying to better my life working and why I want to come here and stay up until ten o’clock to go take out the trash and go mop the kitchen? I need to go to bed, because I got to get up at four or five in the morning to go to work. And then if you don’t do that, you don’t get no bus ticket. And I just said this is just too much for me; it’s way too much. And I just couldn’t deal with it.

Colleen: So the two of you mostly come to the day center for breakfast or food and hygiene reasons. Is that fair to say?

George: Yes.

Colleen: What is it for you? Why is it important for you?

Olin: I don’t come in all the time. I just come in when I need to do laundry and every other day for a shower, yeah. I come in once a week to do my laundry. Living outside, it’s kind of rough. Some people will take your stuff and I don’t have anything like that I used to have. I used to have a lot of gear and not anymore.

Colleen: Not anymore.

Olin: Not anymore.

Colleen: So, given what I told you about kind of why we’re having this conversation and that we’ve got this group of folks sort of thinking about these issues and trying to figure out some actions that could make things better, both for people sleeping outside, as well as for communities that are dealing with people sleeping outside, what do you each think is important for them to be considering, information they should know that maybe you think they don’t know, whatever you think would be important to tell them?

George: You could go back and say, okay, well, you got a lot of homeless kids up here. Make some sack lunches, take the sack lunches to them. Break that first ice. You know what I’m saying? If you start doing little stuff like that for them, eventually, they’ll start opening up more and telling you more what you need to know.

Olin: Get a better understanding of what they’re going through.

George: Right, because, again, they’ll see like sending you here, they’re going by what you would say. You know what I’m saying? I mean, like, my thing is if I was doing it, I would say, look, I need a couple of you all young ladies or a couple gentlemen to come go with me this morning. Let you hear for yourself and see what’s going on, like, walk in and say, okay, well, wow, look at him.

My thing is that’s what I would do and see, my thing, I would get out in the community. Like, they say they’re at the library. Just go, have a conversation. Just walk to the park and say, how’s your day? Can I talk to you for ten, fifteen minutes? You ought to get ten, fifteen minutes. You can tell when they’re lying to you because you can sense it. You know what I’m saying? And you say, okay, well, this person’s full of crap. I ain’t got time for this.

Then you find somebody who they say okay, well, look, I’m homeless, but I’m trying to do something with my life. And then you have some people who just don’t care. Some people choose to be homeless.

Olin: Um-hmm.

Colleen: What’s the biggest barrier, do you think? What’s the greatest challenge once you don’t have a home anymore? And I know it might be different for different people. So maybe just from your own experience, what’s the biggest hurdle? Is it employment?

George: No, no. It’s just my biggest hurdle would be getting to the places. See, my thing, this is another thing I have a problem with here. I don’t like lying to the bus drivers. See, I have a ORCA card, but I haven’t put no money on it, so I’ll tell them, look it, man, I need to get here because I’m trying to go for a job.

Some of them would go with the [inaudible]. Some of tell me, well, $2.50. Oh, look it, man, I’m just waiting for the next bus driver, because see I’m not going to sit here and argue with you. I’m trying to better myself, but you’re taking your little job too serious. You getting a paycheck every two weeks. That money that goes in that thing, you ain’t getting an extra nickel out of it. You’re not. You know what I’m saying?

And I might go somewhere, like today I’m talking to you. Now, my transfer done ran out, but see, I’m not tripping. See, my thing is I got to be a lawyer [sounds like]. If you say no to me, I’ll just wait for the next person. I’m not going to let you ruin my day.

And then if the next one say no, then the third one, I ain’t going to give him a chance to say no. I’m just going to get on the bus. And now, we’re going to have some problem, because you’re going to have to do what you need to do and I’m going to do what I need to do. I need to get to this place to see about a job. I came to you all twice nicely, asked, told you I’m not lying. I’m showing you papers that I’m trying to do something, but you get to tell me oh, I can’t let you ride. Okay, cool.

The third bus driver, I’m not going to even question. I’m just going to get on the bus, do what I got to do, because now, you done took me to a point now where my anger is up. I’m not violent, but I done got kind of warm under the collar, saying, damn, you know, dude, I tried to be nice, you being nice, but easier just telling you no.

Okay, the first driver, you can let that slide. The second one, now I’m getting kind of heated, saying well, damn, I’m trying to find a job, but this man ain’t trying to help me. You know what I’m saying? He think I just want to ride on this bus.

Colleen: So, getting places is one of the hardest things?

George: Yeah, it is for me, um-hmm, because see, I just can’t ask nobody. If I see someone saying, man, no, no, no.

Colleen: So, you don’t ask for money on the street?

George: No, I can’t do that.

Colleen: You don’t do that.

George; I can’t do that, no, no. Like I say, I’m born down south and I was raised kind of different. Like my dad said, if you ain’t got no money, why you going into the store? Because if you ain’t got no money and you’re going to the store, what’s you going to the store to do? You’re going there to steal. So, yeah, if I’m hungry, I’m going to go somewhere and say, excuse me, can I get something to eat? Either you’re going to say yea or nay. That’s it. If you say no, I’m going to go to the next person. Excuse me, sir, look, man, I’m hungry. Can I get something?

Colleen: Robert, what do you think is the biggest barrier or hurdle for you?

Robert: Three things.

Colleen: Three things?

Robert: Just quality, safe place to sleep and quality rest in a secure area. Two, staying neat and clean; clean clothes, showering. And three; getting from A to B. That’s starting from ground zero with nothing. If you get a little day labor here or a little work there, then you can get the ORCA card. You can go to the laundromat when you need to instead of when they’re open. Because if you got to work during the day, you can’t come here to get cleaned up. Save a little money, go to the YMCA or whatever. There’s always a way, but it takes a little while to get going.

George: Right.

Colleen: How about you, Olin?

Olin: You know what, right now, I choose to do this, because I’m saving up some money. A year-and-a-half ago, I went to Spain. I did the Camino de Santiago. I don’t know if you know what that is.

Colleen: I don’t know what that is.

Olin: It’s a pilgrimage. It’s close to two-thousand years old or maybe not that old. But, it’s a pilgrimage from the South Pyrenees in France to Santiago de Compostela. It’s a big old church and it’s on the northwestern-most point of Spain. And they got three different routes. They got the main, one most taken [sounds like] and they got the del norte and then they got the south road. And I did the north route where you’re going just along the coast and you can camp out anytime you want right in that area. And the reason I’m saving up money right now is this time, I want to go to Belize.

Colleen: How are you getting money?

Olin: Oh, once this heals up, I have a, I have a neighborhood in Issaquah that I do handy work for.

Colleen: Okay, so people know you and hire you that kind of thing?

Olin: Oh yeah. No I started out with this one guy his name was Tom Hayden and he just kind of spread the word man this guy does good work, bang, fix it jobs, lawn maintenance, whatever. And so I just go around that neighborhood and pick up work from there.

Colleen: What would it take for you to want to be and be sober for a long time again?

Olin: Well, I’m actually waiting for a bed at a treatment center right now.

Colleen: Okay you’re on a list?

Olin: Yeah.

Colleen: How long have they told you the wait is?

Olin: I should be there like maybe in three weeks now within three weeks.

Colleen: And in three weeks will you still be motivated to do that...

Olin: Oh yeah.

Colleen: ...because that’s something we hear sometimes is...

Olin: Oh yeah.

Colleen: ...somebody’s motivated, no bed, the three weeks comes and you’re in a different place.

Olin: In ‘93 I went to treatment for ninety days. I had four years sober after that. I’ve had two years sober, I’ve had one year sober, and I had three years sober this last time I had three years sober. So I mean it’s there. I’ve done it.

Colleen: Yeah clearly you can do it.

Olin: Yeah it’s just...

Colleen: What it is about keeping it? You don’t know.

Olin: Well, when I lost my sobriety after four years, lost my house, lost my business. Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman wasn’t calling me no more. I got laid off from Marriot. I was doing all those jobs at once and I was driving Meals on Wheels. I was a busy, busy, busy, busybody and I had no time to drink alright? I had a performance group at the same time which I started up and I mean I was just going bam, bam, bam, bam. I was all over LA, all over LA, Orange County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County.

Then I lost everything, I mean, everything just came down at once, boom. I lost my job, well, got laid off from Marriot got tired of my dancers and the people that worked for me when I had the performance group. They were just how come you get this much money and we only get this? I said you know what? You go out there and sell the jobs. You do the speaking. You do the singing alright? And I’ll gladly take the $150 an hour. And so I gave them my bad PA and I gave them one of my drums and I said, you all go and do it now. I’m gone. I just left it like that.

Colleen: So you got fed up.

Olin: I got fed up yeah. So I mean yeah.

Colleen: [inaudible words].

Robert: If Redmond and the community center or wherever they could had like a central are where people who were trying to get on their feet and get work. Like he was talking, he had a reputation because there’s a number of things. So many people need an odd job, whether it be a home of just a temporary thing at a business, well, we need to paint this we need just a special task for the day, the week, that would give people a chance to get their bus fare money to be able to go get some decent clothes, but also to get a reputation. Because if people see, well, wait a minute he shows up on time, does decent work. That’s a recommendation or they might put you to work. We’re doing a business doing odd jobs for them they say well, he shows up, he’s respectful, he’s clean. We need somebody that is consistent. It’s not a guarantee. You know, some people are just going to come, get a day’s work and go get drunk. Some people are going to get a day’s work and get some bus fare to come back and get another day’s work. It’s a way to prove yourself, yeah.

George: I agree with him because the thing is if the community says like okay well, like he said they okay you call me and I’ll come to your business and I’ll work two days and oh, wow, George you’re early in the morning. You see, I’m just the opposite. And when I go for a job interview and like have to be here two o’clock I’m going to be there way before two. Like when I got hired over here the man said well he’s here come in now and I’ll be there at 7:30. He go wow you come early. I said well I like being early, can’t never tell when something might go wrong. And see I like to be early because I’m trying to show them right off the bat that, look, this is how bad I want the job. I need this job. So usually I get it you know what I’m saying.

The thing is now like he was saying people here in Redmond would say okay well my yard needs raking or I need to clean the drains or something off the roof or something or just have somebody cut the grass and they would seesaw oh well because like he said you’re going to have a few. There’s always a few in the bad skid or get their little money oh there a liquor store right there I’m going to get me a drink get started. But then you get a few would say oh yeah okay I didn’t fail you know what I’m saying? Show up the next day he’ll say well okay then you get on the phone and call Joe Blow. Joe Blow check this out I got this guy over here he does good work. You might want to use him to help you do some work around your house. And then once you get a little bit of confidence in yourself and they see it then you can move on.

But when they see us like it’s just like I’m walking up there, um, um, you lock your door. Well what you afraid of? I am not fit to bother you. You don’t got nothing I want you don’t. And my thing is it’s just like he said if you look homeless people just don’t want to be bothered with you. I you dress nice and smell alright you’d be surprised. But mostly if they see you with a bag or something and you got a couple bags with you they scared that you going to do something try to rob them take something from them or you’re going to come in their house and steal something. You don’t got nothing I want. I’m just trying to get on my feet before I can move on you know what I’m saying? If you want to help me, cool. If you don’t I’m going to still pray for you because you’re not going to stop me you know what I’m saying?

Colleen: So a couple questions I have about this place about how many people come every day and is it just for men or can women come too?

George: No I don’t think that women can come here.

Colleen: So all men here.

Olin: Yeah it’s all men. Women have their own place.

Colleen: Okay that’s what I thought. And what are the hours here?

George: From eight to three.

Olin: Eight to three.

Colleen: There’s always breakfast?

George: There’s lunch.

Olin: There’s always lunch.

Colleen: Always lunch okay and then laundry and showers? George: Yep.

Olin: Laundry and showers.

Colleen: About how many people are here at a time?

George: Well, usually, now since I’ve been, this is my second week I’ve seen the number decrease.

Colleen: You’ve seen it go down?

Olin: Because of the weather.

Colleen: Oh, because people are outside more?

Robert: It varies, time of month, Mondays are usually more crowded.

George: Okay but now see you got this thing here now see now we got to get to the nitty-gritty.

Colleen: Oh let’s get it.

George: So this here end of the month. End of the month.

Colleen: People out of money.

George: No end of the month. See people getting a whole bunch of money. Everybody be getting a lot of money at the end of the month.

Colleen: Oh, that’s when the money comes, at the end of the month.

George: Yeah on the 1st because they gets this little money each month and see I have a problem with that too why would you wait one month to get this money and then go spend it up in two days. I don’t quite understand that either never did. And eventually once they get their little money I mean they go get their little drugs or whatever they going to do and they having some fun and they start coming back to the center.

Colleen: It ebbs and flows depending on a number of factors it sounds like.

Olin: Yeah, like three people this morning got canned out of here for a month.

George: So for nonsense. One dude doing something he didn’t have no biz doing in the bathroom that didn’t make no sense to me. And these other two dudes arguing and fighting over something it’s not even eight o’clock yet, not even 8:30. So come on man. It isn’t that serious you know what I’m saying. My thing is I try to avoid trouble much as possible like hey I bump you excuse me you know what I’m saying? Don’t go all tripping and go all because I’m not going to feed you that. I’ll just say look here man whatever I’m sorry. Now if you put your hands on me then I’m going to defend myself. Some people all that yelling and screaming my dad told me words haven’t never killed nobody never have, never have.

So, but my thing is it’s just like you will come here and say well I got somewhere to come let me go do what I got to do and get on you know what I’m saying?

Colleen: Any last words or anything you feel like is really important to be said that you haven’t said?

Olin: I was going to say something, but I can’t remember what it was.

Colleen: We’ll give you a minute.

Olin: No it won’t come back.

Colleen: Oh okay.

Robert: I’ve seen people use this facility to get on their feet and get jobs and then they’re gone. You might see them later and they’re looking good. There’s always, no matter where you are if you went mi Microsoft, you wouldn’t have a crew of people that worked together. Some are performers and some are slackers. That’s the way it’s going to be here. You’re going to have people that are slackers you’re going to have people that are serious no matter where you are.

But I’ve seen people get on their feet. And if I got involved let’s say I was on the board of directors or I paid attention to what’s working and what’s not working and why and I tried to slowly, tactfully get rid of what’s not working and encourage what is of people coming back for three or four months and all they do is have a reputation of being trouble. I might give them three or four month’s suspension, but if they’re doing well, like I said people who get on their feet, they’re gone. It may take a few months, but they’re gone. Why would you come here if you’re working? You can’t come here.

I’ve seen people get on their feet. They get cleaned up do this get the phone calls. I think one guy got a job across the street at Symetra. I’ve met people who worked at Microsoft, made lots of money but something happened to them they got depressed or family problems or divorce and they gave up for a while, got on their feet go back now they’re at Amazon. It happens you don’t know.

George: It’s just not like the guy who brought us to the room now. I’ve been here two weeks. He told me this morning he said, George, for two weeks I seen you did just what you said you was going to do. I yeah man I told you I don’t have time for this.

My thing is I look at certain things. When I come here if I go like certain places I see a person out in it and they still doing the same thing two months later that’s like negative vibe for me. I don’t want to be around that. See my thing I like being around people who’s working. If you’re working and I’m working then you can borrow money from me. But if you aren’t working you borrow money how you going to pay me back? So we not going to waste our time with that. And my thing is like he told me this morning he said man two weeks you came in here just for two days because he helped me get my food handlers. I told him look at me I’m not with it. I told you in two weeks I will have a job and I made sure that. But see I tell myself. I don’t go like thirty days here George you got thirty days.

I told myself when I lost my job this is day one. I lost my job myself. I used to work at the Hyatt in Redmond, you know what I mean? And I went to Seattle and got with the wrong people and did some things I shouldn’t have done and had my relapse. But now I go back to the job no calls no show they want to hire me back. They did but I said no I need some time to do me get me right first. And they said George you cool. Alright go ahead do what you need to do. I went to a couple meetings got myself right now I’m strong again. I’m not going to let Satan get behind me and get in front of me. I want him standing back there behind me not in front of me no more. And see once he back there, I know he’s back there and I can say oh, yeah, there he is. I see him back there. But see when he was in front of me he was in different clothes and different disguise and I couldn’t catch it. But I know him now.

So I told him that he said man look two weeks you came here and I’m very proud of what you did. And I told him when I get my first check, I’m going to take him out to lunch. He said that’s a deal.

Colleen: That’s great.

George: See my thing see now once I get my first check and take him out to lunch I won’t look backwards. I won’t look back. I won’t even come near this place. I won’t because I’ll say George you’re on your feet now. You crawled in. Because see I have a thing you got to crawl before you can walk. And once I start walking get on my feet a little bit I’m done with this.

I met a guy yesterday on the bus he sat right by me said you George huh? I don’t know who the dude was and I’m thinking some kind of enemy or something. Red light goes out be on guard. He said no man I know you looking for apartment. I got this list here with these places. He said as soon as I finish looking at them doing what I got to do I’ll save them for you and when you get up on your feet a little bit you check them out. It’s like people got rooms in Bellevue and few other places where they rent out rooms for like $400, $500. See now that’s right up my alley. I just need somewhere where I can lay my head and take a shower and go to work, that’s it. And once I get that good, I’m good to go.

Colleen: Did you think of your thing...

Olin: No.

Colleen: ...or do you have anything else?

Olin: No.

Colleen: You’re all good.

Olin: I think so.

Colleen: I’m going to turn this off if you guys are good to go.