Be Grateful (Jimmy Deadwilder’s Story)

          “You need to guide yourself but sometimes those avenues are not always open,” says Jimmy Deadwilder on his experience as a homeless man. “Knowing how to hold on to a dollar is a big difference, I got hit pretty bad with the economy.” Before the recession, Deadwilder had a successful career in construction, but then everything fell apart. He suffered a back injury on the job, but he never reported it so he did not receive compensation. A divorce soon followed and then he lost his driver’s license because he had no income, making him unable to pay off traffic tickets.

            After such a snowball of detonating issues, Jimmy went to Harbor Interfaith Services, a local organization supporting those in need. Jimmy is not alone. Shari Weaver, the organization’s program director for its Family Resource Center, says there are “17,000 beds for a [homeless] population of 58,000 in Los Angeles, and, in the South Bay alone, excluding Long Beach, there are 5,800 homeless and 287 in San Pedro.” In other words, there is an exceptional amount of need in the area. Harbor Interfaith is there to help those, like Jimmy, get back on their feet.

            “I am a man that made $50,000 a year at one time, and now I’m struggling to make $15,000 a year,” he says. After the housing market crashed, many construction workers lost their jobs. No one wanted to build houses at the time. The bubble had burst. As a result, Jimmy was out of work and still suffering from a back injury.

            In addition, Deadwilder and his wife decided to divorce, leading to a fight for custody of their two young boys, which Jimmy lost. Child support was now added to the list of obligations he already had a tough time fulfilling, and now he lost his home as well. Forced to live on the streets, Jimmy desperately searched for employment. After two years of unemployment, Deadwilder finally found a job assembling shoes for the popular clothing brand, ‘American Apparel.’ He currently works 12-hour shifts, getting paid $8.50 an hour. Jimmy started working at the factory in January, just after he got involved with Harbor Interfaith’s program to provide shelter, food, and the essentials many take for granted. Even though Harbor Interfaith was there for him, there was still the burden of child support while being homeless. “Now,” he says, “$186 has to be taken out of my paycheck a month, even though I am barely making $350, and, they’re taking an additional $72 out for medical. That leaves me with roughly $100 a month to live off of.” Despite such a minimal amount to live off of, it is remarkable how this man stays positive.

            With the help of Harbor Interfaith and a positive attitude, Jimmy has something to look forward to. “I have a court date June 12. June 12 comes and I’m going to try to get my driver’s license back and get back into construction,” he says. “I look at it as the glass half full.” When he gets back on his feet, Jimmy Deadwilder hopes can help those in the same situation, he says, “If I give back,” he says, “maybe God will look out for me in some kind of way.”