A Tale of a Homeless Homie

Needless to say many of you know more about the fact that my little nonprofit that Brian Delong and I started, the Urban Singletrack Project, has had more issues with the homeless transients of the town than we ever anticipated. That community was once one we were close with until Springs Rescue Mission expanded and the transients came to town in large numbers almost instantly somehow. Most of this crowd was not the nice, down on their luck, just trying to figure shit out homeless crowd we had gotten to know and we weren't the only ones that had problems...so did our homeless homies that called our trails home.

Darrell Jackson was one of those homeless homies we made during our time scouting out trails and building new ones. Craig Carroll, he's on the left of Darrell and I'm right of Darrell, was the one who found him while working onto Banker's Lunch Loop one evening. He quickly called me and simply said, "Hey Jon...you need to come over here you gotta meet this guy I found camping here." and that guy was Darrell. In my 10 years of scouting out spots for trails as well as the last 4 or so we've been building/maintaining/cleaning up the trails I had never seen such a well kept tent/campsite. Hell, I dare say I've never seen any campsite and tent so well organized. His bed was made better than I ever have made mine. Books stacked next to it and the rest of the tent...spotless. Outside his campsite looked more like a zen garden than a camp. Darrell had bought a metal rake and landscaped the area around his tent so nice I was ready to move in! He was also quite well spoken and a gentleman. He treated us as guests, not invaders into his land.

For 2 months he'd been trying to get a new ID because he wanted to get a job and get working. However Springs Rescue Mission didn't help one bit. As Darrell would say, the homeless are just cattle to them and took more pride in how many pairs of socks they'd given away than actually help get people off the streets. I'd heard this story before from other homeless homies, but always took it with a grain of salt given the messenger of such news. With Darrell, I did at first too until I found he was either at my office when I got there some days or stopped by at some point in the day every day after I met him. He wanted to work.

Frustrated that Springs Rescue Mission wasn't helping someone so motivated I posted to FB to see if anyone knew how to help. Jeanette Faul-Bishop would be the one who messaged me to see if she could help. She was a massage therapist by trade as well as a full time mom, but her husband worked with vets at his nonprofit and she saw Darrell was a vet. Long story short, in less than 10 business days she figured out how to get Darrell an ID. I was then able to get him a job at Blue Star via Joe Coleman whom I asked to give him a chance. Seemed like everything was going well for Darrell and we could get him out of the woods in no time.

But that September I got a call from Craig Carroll telling me that he just got a call that Darrell had an attempt made on his life and he was in critical condition at the hospital. There was a good chance he wouldn't live. Craig and I ended up picking up all of his belongings being watched by the police. It was a hard thing to do as you carefully pick up a man's belongings with no family or friends around. You realize that you and a few others were all he had at the moment, nor did we know how much longer we'd have Darrell.

Jeannette got in touch with his family and got them flown out, including his son who was in the Air Force Reserves. We were invited to meet them at the hospital, none knew he was homeless. People I didn't know thanking us for taking care of their beloved son/brother/dad and getting in touch with them. Strangers now brought together by a man who may very well be on his death bed.

Darrell would have to have part of his skull removed. He would stay in the hospital for quite a few months. At first when he woke he could barely speak and was pretty drugged up. Every time I visited him he'd tell me "Jon I know you'll help me get out of here. I can't stand it here and I need to go get that f*cker who tried to kill me and end him. Craig won't help." to which of course I had to remind Darrell that as much as I wanted the same result, he couldn't dress himself much less take a guy out. No, you're staying put and gotta get better. Needless to say, he still asked I help do so every time. :)

Later he was moved to an assisted living home and he could start to speak well. His memory was as off as his balance most days, and most visits involved reminding him what we had talked about and reminding him to stay in bed. And yes, I'd get asked to help get him back to his camp to find the guy, and the same reply as before. He now had a helmet he was mandated he had to wear when he left his bed. I asked Darrell if he'd like some cool stickers for his helmet, and my buddy JT Evans at foursquare ideas helped make up a few for it. After we got the "Bad to the Bone" sticker on the front of his helmet and "See ya later" on the back of it, Darrell enjoyed wearing his helmet quite a bit more.

Progress has been slow and while Darrell was ready to get the hell out of the home, we got word he'd have to stay there another year this Fall. Darrell isn't fond of the place, and I have to remind him that while yes, "it is nothing but short bus people here I gotta get out", he had to suck it up.

Yesterday Jeanette brought us all together for a family photo. Darrell had never had such and wanted one of all of us for the wall of his room. She even scored a Santa and we all got in the pic. Man was he happy and glowing. Was hard not to feel really happy for the guy as he walked down the hall at the same pace as me, something Mindy will say she has troubles doing sometimes. Darrell has been going for walks and been doing his best to keep his spirits up. He goes outside everynight to watch the sun set on the mountains, and thankful he's alive to do so.

Homelessness is often called a really tough problem that's hard to address. That it's complicated. However everyone who tells me this is taking it on as though it's something you can just apply a system to and build fancy buildings to hand out food/socks from. But reality is I feel a sincere human to human interaction is what is needed most. They aren't cattle. And you can't save them all....think that's something many in the homeless outreach biz forget, in the end no matter who you are you have to want to change. Many won't no matter what. Darrell though wants to, and well, I'm gonna do what I can to help where I can until he's got his own roof to live under and a job he loves.

Merry Christmas Darrell. Glad to be apart of your family.