Man's pink slip might signal economic rebound
If you're looking for a glimmer of hope that the economy is improving, Darren says you can take encouragement from the fact that he got laid off from his job.
A resident of the suburbs since 1984, Darren had steady work earlier in this recession as one of those guys you'd see on street corners holding signs reading, “Going Out of Business Sale! Everything Must Go!” The demise of stores ravaged by the recession kept him happily employed.
Perhaps you saw him somewhere along Golf Road, a good-size guy who would often dance up a storm next to his sign to draw attention, and even a few tips.
“I've gotten everything from a middle finger to a $20 bill,” says Darren, 48, who asks that we not use his last name.
The more stores that went under, the busier he was.
“We were great at that,” Darren says of the crew of sign-holders he managed. “I closed three Circuit Citys, a Bed, Bath & Beyond, Bailey, Banks & Biddle. I closed maybe 10 stores in Schaumburg.”
Losing his gig must mean that the economy is recovering, Darren figures. So that's good.
But Darren knows firsthand that the situation isn't getting better for everyone. Fortunately, he knew where to go.
“You know who the strongest person is? The person who comes in and asks for help,” Darren says Wednesday as he stops into the Palatine office of Journeys from PADS to HOPE, a unique intervention and prevention charity that serves the homeless and at-risk populations in 37 communities across North and Northwest suburban Cook County.
Darren first hooked up with Journeys in the late 1990s when he was between jobs. He spent some time at their shelter, took some clothes and gas vouchers, even let them hook him up with some services. But he didn't consider himself one of the homeless, even when he was sleeping in his 20-year-old van.
“I figured I was much better than that. If I put myself in their realm, I'd be on a downward path,” Darren says. “I never wanted to go to the places where homeless people went to, where there's a plethora of homeless people acting silly. I didn't even know there was a PADS until 2006.”
That's when Darren was working two jobs and staying with a friend. His friend's pregnant girlfriend took Darren's spot in the small apartment, and both jobs disappeared. Journeys worked with Darren on all aspects of his life, making him one of Journeys' 112 success stories of homeless people who were put into housing last year, says Todd Stull, the clinical director for the agency.
“That's what keeps us in the fight,” says Stull, who notes that his agency doesn't have many of the resources available to agencies that deal only with veterans, substance abusers or other niches. Because of Journeys, Darren got hooked up with Catholic Charities, which found him an apartment in Mount Prospect, and with Alexian Brothers, which is working on his health issues. Darren, who says he doesn't drink alcohol, smoke or use drugs, is working on a goal of being healthy, finding a job with computers, maybe earning his college degree.
As the new president of the Journeys board of directors, Bob Arnold of Arlington Heights says he hopes those stories of success result in more visits to www.frompadstohope.org and more donations.
Just like the clients it serves, Journeys has seen its income drop and its costs increase. In its 2009-2010 report, which includes fewer pages than past years and is printed on recycled paper to save money, Journeys reports that contributions fell about 4 percent while the number of people it serves rose 31 percent.
“The irony is that Journeys could become homeless because of this economy,” says Beth Nabors, the executive director of Journeys. “We're in a difficult position ourselves.”
While he used to make his living off belly-up businesses, Darren says he hopes people in the community continue to volunteer with and contribute to Journeys from PADS to HOPE.
“It is,” Darren notes, “an uphill battle for them, too.”