Local organizations give help and hope to the homeless

University Hospital provides free emergency care for the homeless.

By Matt Reinig

Published Sept. 13, 2008

Robert Nickles is 50 years old and has lived in Columbia for the last 45 years. He's been homeless for the last 12, and he's dying.

Nickles suffers pancreatitis and diseases of the heart and liver. Doctors have given him a year-and-a-half to two years to live.

"I don't want to hurt no more," he said. "I hurt everyday."

Nickles is among many of the uninsured homeless in Missouri. According to a report by the Missouri Association for Social Welfare, 87,000 Missourians were homeless in 2002. The Columbia/Boone County Community Assessment also reports that 12.2 percent have no health coverage.

Homelessness doesn't not always mean helplessness.

"University Hospital and University of Missouri Health Care is a safety-net provider," UM Health Care spokeswoman Mary Jenkins said. "Anyone who needs emergency medical care we treat, regardless of their ability to pay."

Jenkins said UM Health Care provides about $40 million a year in un-reimbursed medical care.

But there is another potential ailment that may prevent Nickles from bettering himself through medical treatment - alcoholism.

Nickles said the pills necessary to treat his ailments, when combined with alcohol, might be more detrimental to his health than if he were to continue drinking without medicine.

"That may be stupid, but I know me," Nickles said. "I won't stop drinking. When I quit drinking, then I'll come back and get them (the pills)."

As rocky as the road might appear, it is not a road void of faith, brotherhood or companionship. Instead, that's what the road is paved with.

Eddie Nelson, also homeless, is Nickles' good friend.

"We look out for one another," Nelson said.

Nickles and Nelson, among other homeless people, have resolved to give back to the community in a way that has been given to them.

Columbia resident Patty Dixson, 42, was diagnosed with lung cancer in mid-July.

"She has no way to make money, she got nobody to care for her, nobody to buy her food, no way to pay her rent, no way to pay utilities," Nickles said. "We make sure she gets $5 a day."

Dixson, who is not homeless, recently got a job at Subway.

Dixson said Nickles, Nelson and other homeless people have been sharing with her about 25 percent of the limited funds they receive each day.

"I've never met any nicer people," Dixson said, adding that the money contributes to taxi fares to the doctor and groceries.

Nickles said he appreciates that Dixson treats him and others like people, regardless of their situation.

"She treats us like we mean something," he said.

This sort of empathy is prevalent among Nickles and Nelson, among others.

"I used to live a straight-laced life," Nickles said. "I had a job, I had a wife. I had kids. I'm a certified chef."

Nelson, originally from Miami, worked for years as a carpenter, but he said gave up his job and all of his savings after coming to Columbia for his brother's funeral a year-and-a-half-ago.

"My mom needed all that money and guess what I did? I exhausted my funds," Nelson said. "It took me $15,000 to put my brother in the ground. It's so expensive."

After paying for his brother's funeral and leaving the rest of his savings to his grieving mother, he became homeless.

Nelson, a Vietnam War veteran, also suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.

"I always gave to this country," Nelson said. "I wish this country would start giving back to me."

The Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital in Columbia has several teams within its Behavioral Health Service division that address the needs of homeless veterans. Among those teams is the psychosocial rehabilitation team.

"In my experience here locally, major depressive disorder has been the diagnosis that has been most prevalent for the homeless veterans that we have served," said Denise Heet, who coordinates homeless veteran treatment for the VA Hospital. "A lot of the veterans that we work with are dual-diagnosis, which means that they are dealing with an addiction as well as a mental illness."

The majority of these patients have once held careers or owned homes.

"Something comes up such as a job loss, a divorce or a loss of a child - a myriad of things that can trigger homelessness," Heet said.

Fortunately for veterans like Nelson, the VA Hospital works closely with several local community agencies when treating and housing veterans. Resources include Jefferson City and Columbia Salvation Army's transitional residences and permanent housing programs. Veterans can also participate in a Supported Employment program along with the Compensated Work Therapy Program to pay for permanent housing.

As part of the housing initiatives, most programs require that veterans contribute financially. Heet said veterans are generally required to pay no more than 30 percent of their income.

Heet said that through an annual study, they estimate that there are almost 100 homeless veterans in Columbia. Many of those are already engaged in treatment programs, she said.

"We've served about 50 veterans this year," Heet said.

One of the emergency housing divisions the VA Hospital works with, Salvation Army's Harbor House in Columbia, has several stipulation programs, one being the Worker's Program.

Tenants are asked to contribute 10 percent of their paycheck, which for most is $14, development director Cyndy Chapman said. She also said tenants are required to put 65 percent of their paychecks into a savings account. This leaves them 25 percent for personal spending. The facility provides three meals a day.

"We want to see them succeed, that's our main goal," Chapman said.

Nickles said he disagrees with Salvation Army's policies, which include rent charges once tenants find work, a curfew and a no-drinking policy.

Each new day brings positive and often very painful emotions in these men, as they see the continuous cycle they've come to know so well. The world they know is one of giving.

"If I were to ask you for a dollar and you give it to me or not, I would say, 'Thank you sir, God bless you. Have a nice day,'" Nickles said. "The dollar don't mean near as much as the kinship it brings."