Kevin - "Trying to Be a Better Person"
Story brought to you in partnership with our friends at Mercy’s MSU Care Clinic
Photo by Randy Bacon
I worked with Randy Bacon on “The Road I Call Home”. I've known Randy; I met him when I was homeless with my girlfriend. He was pretty nice to us. It was kind of an experience when he wrote that book. Me and my girlfriend, Petra, were anxious to help with it. I don’t think she ever told her story. I don’t think she ever wrote anything for him. He put her and I in the book together. Every time I look at it, I wish them days were here again. She was run over and killed. Now I’m basically dealing with, ‘she's not here, but if she were here, I would ask myself, what would she say’? Probably the same thing I'm thinking. She was on top of things, and she helped me stay out of trouble for 10 years. She was there for me; she had my back. She would allow me to react when I needed to.
I was happier on the street than where I live now. On the streets I did not have much to worry about other than me and my girl that passed away. You know I'm trying to be a better person. I got myself in trouble and I'm dealing with that. I have other people trying to get me in trouble and I'm dealing with that. And you know, other than that, the transformation from being homeless to being in housing is more stressful than anything. People think, “Oh you have a place to stay, you’re blessed”, yeah I'm dying but ok, you know. I don’t know what else I can say. I am waiting on disability right now, hopefully that kicks in. I don’t really want to be on disability. I can’t not work. When I was homeless, I always tried to work. I worked little odd jobs here or there. I think it was a matter of pride I guess you could say. I don’t want people paying my rent. I don’t want people telling me what to do. But I'm in that position. I’ve got probation over here, I have housing over here, I’ve got the landlord, I’ve got the tenants that work for the landlord, this thing keeps going on and on. So, I'm like, "How do I keep it together? I don’t think there is a pill that can fix that.” I didn’t want to tell MSU because I had tried to take a bunch of pills. I'm ok, I'm a stable person but at my age, I am tired of the drama. Maybe I cause a little drama. I have to make the decision to shut my mouth when I need to. Before, when I was homeless, I started coming to MSU Care to get signed up for medical healthcare because I’m diabetic. I had no other place to get insulin so I came here. The doctor that actually helped me was Dr. Bower. I've been feeling a lot better. I'm able to actually function instead of going to sleep all day. And as far as, you know, taking care of my health I agree that all of it was not perfect but then again, everybody's different so instead of getting aggravated and upset about it I just went along with the program even though I may not have wanted to. The bad part is that then I got diagnosed with COPD so here’s another health problem I was not aware of. I smoked cigarettes so I've cut way back on and am trying to quit. Other than that, I can’t walk because my neck has degenerated vertebrae. I’ve found out a lot of things are wrong with me through the process of trying to control my diabetes. They say God will take care of you so maybe if I just need to get it in my head that God’s helping me. I’ll just try to do my best and live out the rest of my life.
“For many in our community, routine doctor visits and prescription medications are far too expensive to access. Every day, people are forced to choose between food and medication or delay treatment for health issues until they are life threatening due to an inability to pay. MSU and Mercy partnered together to break the cycle of poor health and offer hope for the uninsured in our community. The only clinic of its kind in Missouri, the MSU Care Clinic offers uninsured patients top-quality primary care and prescription medications completely free of charge. We know every story—every person—has tremendous value. That is why at MSU Care, we are proud to give compassionate care and exceptional service at no charge to those in the greatest need.”
As an ongoing nonprofit movement, the ability for us to change the world through people and their stories is determined by the love and support of compassionate people, like you. The photography, films, website, written stories, exhibitions, community events and all other aspects of 8 Billion Ones are made possible by the generous financial support of the "ones", like you. Please consider a tax-deductible gift today to help us continue sharing important, life-changing stories of people - just like you.