He's got no home but clings to hope
Posted by the _Asbury Park Press_ (http://www.app.com/) on 09/28/07
BY _ERIK LARSEN_ (mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED])
COASTAL MONMOUTH BUREAU _Post Comment _
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BELMAR — When Jackson Kennedy used to see homeless people, he admits he
looked upon them with a mix of bewilderment and perhaps even haughty disdain.
How, Kennedy would ask himself, in the greatest country on Earth — with all
of its opportunity and prosperity — could a person of common sense and a
decent work ethic find himself in such a predicament?
Kennedy, 64, now knows the answer. Since July, nestled between the opulent
modern homes of Ocean Avenue and the Victorian houses of Belmar's tree-lined
back neighborhoods, is a red, 1997 Chevrolet Astro that Kennedy calls home.
"I am stuck with only one place to live in: a van. . . . I have no place to
live," he said. "I wonder and I think, what did I do that's so wrong that put
me in this situation?"
During the day, Kennedy performs odd jobs at Calvary Baptist Church on the
corner of 13th Avenue and E Street, where he has been a member for about six
years and serves on the mission board.
At night, he parks at different spots throughout Belmar and goes to sleep on
a mattress behind the vehicle's rear tinted windows. Brendel, his
13-year-old pit bull mix, keeps watch.
That's when the demons come, he said.
"Where's my life going? I worry, what's going to happen to me? Will I wake
up tomorrow? I just don't know what to do," he said, as he wiped away tears.
"There's no safety net"
Carolyn Sharrock, director of Belmar's Local Assistance Board, said Kennedy
is a typical example of a person who has fallen through the cracks.
"It is very unfortunate, there are people who are receiving very low
amounts, so there's no safety net. Everything is income-eligible," Sharrock
said.
Kennedy, who up until July 13 was living in the Sea Breeze Mobile Home Park
in Wall, was evicted after he was laid off from his job as a warehouse truck
driver at Kmart and got behind in his rent. He had previously been living
paycheck to paycheck. Without options, he sold his 1959 trailer, recouping
$1,901 after paying his landlord back rent.
Sharrock said Kennedy receives $636 in Social Security and $155 in food
stamps each month.
Under state and federal guidelines, without a place of his own, Kennedy
makes too much to qualify for additional government assistance while
simultaneously not enough to live on. Sharrock said a single person cannot
earn more than
$140 to receive more help, or $210 if the person is unable to work. The rule
has not been changed since the 1970s, she said.
Kennedy can and wants to work. Indeed, his resume is a record of steady
employment since 1973. He was a truck driver and professional mover for United
Van Lines for more than a decade, worked as an investigator for an insurance
company traveling the country, and had spent the last decade as a limousine
driver until he got a job at Kmart in Wall.
But now he bears the stigma of being homeless. Potential employers are leery
of taking him on, wondering about his credibility. Landlords question
whether he could make the rent each month, he said.
Sharrock has been trying to find Kennedy subsidized housing for senior
citizens. Once he finds a place, he will be eligible for a series of
additional
state and federal benefits to help pay his rent and utilities. The waiting
list
is long, but because Kennedy is homeless, he has jumped to the top of the
list and should have a permanent residence in about a month, she said.
"It's frustrating; there's only so much we can do," said the Rev. Grace
Scarle, pastor at Calvary Baptist Church.
Scarle said Kennedy is a respected member of the church. She has given him a
key to use the bathroom facilities of the church — day and night — and he
has access to her family's private washer and dryer in the pastor's house
beside the church.
"We've helped him out with food and some monetary assistance," Scarle said.
"(But) we're a small blue-collar congregation. It's heartbreaking."
Kennedy pays $200 per month to keep all of his personal belongings,
including his clothes, in a unit at Belmar Self Storage where he spends the
first
part of his mornings. He goes there to pick up a change of clothes and sits
for
a bit in a chair that once belonged in his home, sipping his Dunkin' Donuts
coffee and trying to figure out how he got here.
The rest of the day he wanders around town on foot, looking for help-wanted
signs and winter rental signs.
"Jack is not the only one," Scarle said. "It's a sign that there is a flaw
in the system, and we need to be looking at an entire generation of baby
boomers who will be retiring, some only on Social Security, who aren't going
to be
able to make it. I don't know the answer."
Mayor Kenneth E. Pringle said while homelessness is rare in Belmar, he does
get these reports from time to time.
"Obviously rents are expensive in this area; there are people who fall
through the cracks of society," Pringle said.
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____________________________________
i cant belive it<< instead of helping our own..we fight everybody
elses wars..there are times i am ashamed to be an American.. lets take care
of
our own first! if i had a home or extra money i would be out there looking for
this man,,God help him..
Posted by: thenews on Fri Sep 28, 2007 9:19 am
____________________________________
Maybe people in the United States should start worrying about our own
and stop sending money, aid, and food to all of these other countries.
Posted by: Happy Wall Resident on Fri Sep 28, 2007 8:38 am
____________________________________
Why haven't the federal guidelines been revamped since the 1970's? My
heart goes out to this man. He is a descent man willing to work and has
always
taken care of himself. I can only imagine what this has done to his self-este
em. I pray that god makes a way for him.
Posted by: luvmyboys on Fri Sep 28, 2007 8:28 am
____________________________________
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