Below is a rough draft of my final for my senior project for Southern Oregon University

MISSION:SEATTLE

By Jeremy McDonald

Homelessness. Is It a Problem? This question is up for interpretation.

The definition of homeless, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, is defined as an individual who’s lacking a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence.

In Medford, Oregon; 32% of that homeless population is unemployed as of January 2009. As of March of 2011, the unemployment rate stands at 11.6%, it’s 2.8% higher than the national rate of 8.8% from March of this year.

So what does homelessness and unemployment got to do with each other?

This is where our story begins.

It’s a gloomy, cloudy Friday afternoon at the Medford Gospel homeless shelter, located off of West Jackson Street in downtown Medford.

Walking up to the shelter, there’s a fenced-off area about 20 yards away from the front door of the building. The fenced off area holds a gravel area where the residence hang-out and smoke cigarettes and what not.

Sitting on one of the two the wooden tables, wearing a black beanie, a white hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans, sat a guy name Te.

Te is a slender 27-year-old and is originally from Seattle, Washington. He’s stands about 5’6 and is of Asian descend.  Te’s personality can be best described to be laid-back and low key.  But the main part is that Te likes to try to stay under the radar.

He came down from Seattle about four or five days earlier. He’s spent the better part of that stay at the Medford Gospel.

So what’s the problem here for Te?

The Medford Gospel, besides providing meals and clothing to the homeless and those in need, they also provide shelter for 10 days.

10 days. Just 10 days. And for Te’s end of the situation, he’s just about halfway through his stay at the shelter.

“I don’t know why I came down here,” he said, “to clear my head I guess. I’m just trying to get back to Seattle.

That’s the goal. To get back to Seattle. But for what?

Te has been unemployed for a year and has been couch surfing at his parent’s place for the better part of his unemployment.

“I got a job lined up at a hotel back home,” said Te, “I’m supposed to be starting there this time next week.”

It’s Friday.

The question becomes, who is this Te?

Te went to the same high school as Nate Robinson and Doug Christie, both whom played in the NBA, the National Basketball Association, at one point or another. The high school is Rainier Beach High School in Seattle, Washington.

Te has spent sometime in the San Francisco Bay Area, with his now ex-girlfriend and 6-year-old son. They lived in San Francisco and in San Jose.

For a three month stint in San Jose back in 2008, Te worked security at the HP Pavillion, where the National Hockey League’s San Jose Sharks and the Arena Football League’s San Jose Sabercats play at. He had worked the midnight to eight a.m. shift.

“I quit after three months to move to Anchorage, Alaska,” Te started on his job at the HP Pavilion,” I was making $450 every two weeks. Looking back, it wasn’t the best idea in the world.”

He had tried contacting his old boss again for his old position at the arena after sometime in Alaska. But Te has never heard back from his old boss.

He and his ex-girlfriend broke up during his time up in Alaska.

After sometime, Te made his way back to Seattle and after a while, to his parent’s house.

He tried going back to school. But he dropped out after a short time.

“I wasn’t focused enough to stay there.” Te stated he’s interesting in doing something with Architecture.

He stated that living back at home sucks, he doesn’t like all the rules and he doesn’t get along with his younger brother.

Te has an older sister who has graduated from the University of San Francisco with a degree in Accounting. She’s living down there trying to get her career going.

While couch surfing at his parent’s house, Te’s father suffered a stroke back in May of 2010 that eventually cost Te’s father his job.

“He’s still feeling numb on his left side,” he said, “I remember helping him out with his unemployment like on March 30th, before I came down here because he didn’t know how to do it.”

The unemployment rate in Seattle is 9.2% as of April, 2011.

Te’s an avid sports fan. He’s a fan of the Seattle Seahawks, Seattle Mariners and the former Seattle Supersonics. The Supersonics became the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2008.

“I remember when they [the Supersonics] drafted Kevin Durant,” he said, “I knew he was gonna be good. Too bad management moved them to Oklahoma City. They’re great now.”

As he got up from the table outside he put out his cigarette and walked inside the shelter for dinner.

Day Five/Six

Day five and six had brought a real change to Te. Instead of being upbeat and talkative-like as he was on Friday, his mood turned depressed and upset.

“I’m depressed,” he said on Saturday as he was sitting on the same table as the day before.  Without any money he can’t pay for a way home.

Hasn’t he asked his parents for help? Is there hope there?

“I’ve thought about that,” Te said, “But I’m worried they’ll say no, and I don’t know if this place can help me [get home].”

This depressed, upset mindset plaque him head into day six of his stay.

Sunday.  Day six of ten.  It’s sunny outside, but we start inside for this day.

Te was sleeping three blue, plastic chairs that were the nearest to the stage inside of the Medford Gospel.

He is still wearing the same black beanie, white hoodie and blue jeans that he has been wearing for the past two days.

“It’s difficult to sleep,” Te said about sleeping on the chairs, “it’s uncomfortable.”

Walking outside, outside of the parking lot and the general hangout area, Te sat against a wall on the side of the shelter.

He started talking about Seattle and how he talked to his sister about helping him out to get him back to Seattle.

“She wouldn’t help me. She doesn’t have the money,” he said.

How about his parents? They barely got enough money for them he said, so he didn’t really bother with them.

Then a guy with a Safeway bag full of food walks by Te.

“Hey!” he yells, “Can I have a piece of chicken?!”

The guy kept on walking, not bothering to respond to Te, as he went across the street to the Christ Community Church.

“Oh…he’s going to the church, haha. Well, we got 15 minutes before dinner,” Te said grinning a bit.

The first sign of a positivity from Te in the past two days.

Dinner that night offered of hamburgers, salad and water downed juice. Te was relatively quiet the whole meal.  Afterwards he went back outside,  took a few steps into the parking lot, and stop.

A curveball no one expected.

“Well I’m going to talk to them tomorrow and see what happens,” Te said sternly. “I’m not going to be here that much longer.”

He’s referring to the people with some power at the shelter. It’s plausible. The Medford Gospel does whatever is necessary in order to give everyone an equal opportunity to get a leg up and get going in the right direction.

Off and on during the past few days, Te has shown signs of determination to get back home and his job going so he can make some money.

Day Seven

It’s a cool, sunny, Monday afternoon.

Te is sitting outside, sitting on one of the wooden tables in the gravel, “bullpen” area, smoking. He’s looking down, quiet, he has his bag with him. Everyone else around him are talking and laughing.

Te looks up, smiles, something is up.

“They’re willing to help me,” he said, “I’m leaving tonight.”

How did it do it?

He real briefly talked about how he went into the office, told them that he’s trying to go home for his new job in Seattle and so on, and how they agree to help him out.

Te didn’t say who he talked to, partly because he wasn’t paying attention.

“I’m just happy to be going home and to get out of here I didn’t really pay attention who it was I was talking to,” he said.

Te said that he’s taking a Greyhound bus, the 2:30 a.m bus on up. But why is he carrying his bag with him when the trip is so far away?

“I just came back from the station,” he said.

When asked for the ticket, Te said that he didn’t want to dig around for it because it was deep inside his bag.

During the past few days, his backpack, an orange, black and white colored one, looked about half empty. But today it looked a bit fuller.

“Just a bit more organized,” he said.

Te is going to be meeting up with his parents at the station up in Seattle when he gets up there the next day.

“I’m going to be excited and happy,” he said when asked about it.

Before leaving, Te thanked for the change to share his story.

“This was a first,” he said, “but thank you for the opportunity.”

Is homelessness a problem? This question is open for interpretation.

People have their opinions, outlooks and conclusions on this growing issue.

But, maybe if you take a chance and walk in their shoes, you might find out that they’re not much different from you and me.