Phil found housing for the first time in years just before the virus rushed through Chicago. He hopes to someday entertain his closest friends in his new home, but social distancing and city-wide quarantines have forced him to patiently wait for that day.
He also hopes that he’ll be able to make it through this crisis financially.
“It’s an exhausting sort of feeling, trying to make it months into this pandemic. And now it’s doubly difficult. I don’t have many resources to maintain this lifestyle by myself. You know, it was almost easier to get resources when I was on the street than in my own apartment during this pandemic.”
Recently housed through a CHA voucher, Phil’s only resources during the pandemic has been a LINK card and Medicaid. He hadn’t even heard of federal resources for people during the pandemic until his case manager with Heartland Alliance Health reached out.
“I thought he was nuts when he told me that they were just handing out 1200 dollars. I hadn’t filed a tax form for years. I thought ‘why should I file a return when I’ve had zero income?’”
Phil had many questions when he heard of the program. Why did he have to file a tax return? If he didn’t earn any income, would he be eligible? What were the strings attached to such a benefit? Without having learned of the program officially, it took some coercing to get him to apply.
Phil doesn’t have a computer, and his connection to internet is shoddy at best. That meant that he had to work with his case manager over the course of a couple of weeks to file all of the necessary paperwork. The IRS had extra questions about credit scores that required even further digging into other institutions – extending the process even longer.
Weeks later, the first thing he ended up buying with his stimulus was access to the cash itself. Without a bank account, Phil received his check in the mail and was sent to a local cash-checking company in order to withdraw.
Phil’s been making his $1200 last as best he can. He’s been able to pay off a handful of bills, and treated himself to a few nice meals over the last few weeks. Much of it is still tucked away to ensure he has some sort of emergency capital in case of a crisis.
Today, he’s keeping his eyes and ears wide open, scanning the news for any hint of an upcoming stimulus package. Phil had been out of the loop for months before, and does not intend to let that happen again.
“So many of us don’t believe this is meant for us. If Ryan hadn’t talked me into it and told me he was sure I was eligible, I would have never gone through with it. If you’re homeless, or low income, you ARE eligible.”
Just like his hopes to someday host his friends at his new apartment Phil believes that, most importantly, personal interaction is paramount to connecting people with these vital resources.
“Getting hooked up with some organization or some other professionals makes this a much easier process. We could really use folks to help guide those who don’t have the connections or resources. It all makes it that much more difficult.”
