Even as the weather starts to warm, Contributor vendor Michael W. is staying indoors — he’s still working on pulling the essentials together, but for the first time in half a year, he’s got an apartment of his own.
You might know him by his various nicknames, like Casper or Santa Claus, or the fact that he’s sold The Contributor on and off since a year after the paper’s inception. But despite being a part of Nashville’s community since he moved here in 2003, his recent move-in marks the end of a long fight to get back into housing, and a brutal season surviving on the streets downtown.
“It was a struggle, I was worried. ‘Cause if whatever you hear out here is true, you know, if the mayor or whoever does decide to get all the homeless off the street, where are they gonna put them?”
Michael was housed until late last fall, when a slew of rental issues and security concerns drove him out of his apartment. It was one thing after another, whether that meant reckoning with a huge rent increase he only learned about months after it happened or trying to get the locks changed on his apartment door after his room was occupied by strangers.
“The first year was fine,” Michael said. “If the property manager would have helped out a little bit, I’d have probably stayed. But they say, ‘that’s your problem.’ So I left it.”
It was a reminder that in desperate situations, you don’t always have the luxury of trusting the people you meet, he explained.
“I was trying to be Mr. Nice Guy, but you know how that goes. You could be nice to some people and they’ll stab you in the back. They’ll tell you, ‘We’ll help you this, we’ll help you that,’ but they don’t do nothin’. Then if you have rules … they wanna take over. That’s why I left.”
For those who have experienced homelessness before, leaving behind an apartment can be like starting from square one. Even if you have contacts at all the right places and a good recent rental history, there is usually a long line to get into anything income-based.
“There’s waiting lists on everything,” Michael said. “Even when you go to the doctor, you’re waiting.”
Michael said his new apartment was a fresh start and an opportunity to be free of the troubles at his previous place.
“This is a learning experience,” Michael said. “It’s a whole different ball game.”
It’s also a break from the wear of living outside, which only gets harder in the winter, he said. Getting anywhere for food or water required constant spending on bus passes, and more hiking around downtown streets than he was consistently able to do.
“In the winter times, I think it’s harder. Other [people say it’s harder in the summer], but you have to bundle up so much. Some will give to you, some won’t,” Michael said. “Now I’ve got a kitchen. It’s not that big, but it’s big enough for me … now I’ve got everything right there, and I can warm things up, and whatever.”
“I like it over there now because I feel more safe.”
Michael’s not done furnishing his new digs and sharing the good news with his customers, but he’s taking things one day at a time. He’s found it “a little boring” to spend so much time indoors, but it’s well worth the peace and quiet.
“It’s gonna take me a few to get used to it,” he said. “I’m gonna give it a try. I don’t mingle too much. I just get off the bus, go to the store, get whatever, and whoosh, I’m at home.”