unheard voices
jim
As I am pulling up to the Walmart parking lot on a crowded Sunday afternoon, I notice a man holding a sign by the curb. This is my day off from school, but I am itching to know his story. I get out of my car, dressed as if I am about to go join the polo club, and walk over to where he is standing. When I initially tell him about my project, he declines to help. I am flooded with disbelief, but as I am walking away something peculiar happens.
"Where do you go to school?" the man asks.
"Colorado State University, sir" I reply.
"Oh alright. Get back over here."
That is when I discover the man's name is Jim, a Vietnam veteran and an oddly helpful fellow.
Jim has been seeking treatment for his PTSD since 1976, when he was medically discharged from the service. He states he hasn't had any luck obtaining his VA (Veteran) benefits for the past 47 years. He would rather see a therapist than be given Xanax or Prozac to help with his mental injuries, the latter being his only option thus far. When I ask him what kinds of struggles he has faced, he replies, "The ignorance of people helping each other and no compassion."
Jim wakes up at six every morning looking for work. Occasionally, he'll walk over to The Home Depot and ask customers if they need work to be done. He says he's been stiffed 5000 dollars from doing that.
"I don't know what else to do," Jim confesses to me.
The customers at Walmart have been friendly to Jim, giving him spare change or food every now and then. Others refuse to look at him.
"They don’t understand I am looking for work. I wish I was somewhere else besides holding this sign. But right away they think I’m this homeless drug addicted dufus."
Jim will occasionally have a beer but fortunately does not suffer from drug and alcohol addiction. At night, he'll sleep wherever the cops won't bother him. He refuses to go to the Murphy Center or Rescue Mission, explaining how the visitors there don't want to get up and change their lives. He solemnly expresses to me that the feels the employees there are unaccommodating in helping him acquire his VA benefits.
"I just want to get to work and be happy for the rest of my life".