Dave’s Story
I was working in Santa Cruz by the Dream Inn building a condominium. I cut my finger almost off with a skill saw. After this injury, I went into the workers’ comp system. They made my life so difficult; I accepted pennies on the dollar for my injuries. They denied liability, refused to pay me, and pressured me to go back to work. I felt it was too early, but I went back anyway.
Soon thereafter, I was nailing siding on a building on a ladder. There was a gopher tunnel under the ladder leg. When I put my weight on that side, it collapsed. The ladder went sideways. I reached out with my recently injured hand to grab the rain gutter, but I had no grip. I fell and landed on my feet. I had a previous back injury from getting hit by cars four or five years prior, and it aggravated that injury. Again, I found myself injured and couldn’t work.
I went to welding school through workers’ comp rehabilitation. Eventually, they canceled my payments and said I wasn’t participating. My rehabilitation counselor told me there was nothing he could do to help me and I couldn’t get a lawyer to take my case. So, I found myself in the law library for the first time, trying to figure it all out myself. I discovered a case that matched mine. I found that a previously non-disabling injury that was aggravated by an industrial injury was compensable. That meant my back was now part of the case.
When I read that, I let out a whoop. I walked out of the law library with a big smile. They never should have sent me there because I have really good reading skills.
At one meeting, the insurance rep told me, “We can make life difficult for you.” I told him, “You already are.” I had no income coming in, and I couldn’t work. I found that if your case is too minor or too complicated, they just don’t take it. They work in volume. There was no money in it for them.
This battle rendered me homeless.
I slept in the front seat of my truck for over two years. It was terrible for my back. I parked here and there, I didn’t want to stay in one place because people would harass you. I had kids try to break into my truck while I was sleeping in it.
I turned the tables. I got the doctor to say that sleeping on the front seat of my truck aggravated my back and made it worse. That qualified me for another program. I went to electronic technician school and earned an AA degree. I still went to welding school for a year and earned certificates. I tried to turn a negative situation into a positive one as best as I could.
On Christmas morning, my truck was impounded. I walked down streets I knew, carrying a duffel bag with my clothes. That was all I had left. Everything else was taken. My tools, car parts, everything. When your registration is more than a year out of date, they can impound it immediately.
Friends let me sleep on their couches, but only for so long. You hear them arguing about it while you’re in the other room. It makes you feel bad. I went to McDonald’s to shave and use the bathroom.
Everything changed when I got my DUI and sought help. I knew I needed help and couldn’t do it myself. I went to Janus. I was in such bad shape they sent me to the hospital for detox and then eight more days at Janus. I missed court because of drinking and had bench warrants. When the judge found out I was in rehab, she threw all my cases out.
My case manager helped me get into a program for alcoholics and I started going on Wednesdays. At the time, I was living in a 40-foot shipping container. There was black mold from condensation. We cooked on camp stoves, used an ice chest for a refrigerator, [and] had an outdoor shower. In winter it barely got lukewarm. Food went bad. We’d get a motel every couple of weeks just to shower.
When I told people at the MAT meeting about my living situation, I got a call from the County and they said our living situation qualified as homelessness. A door opened and I walked through it. That’s how I got connected to Housing Matters.
I continued to battle Workers Comp. Towards the end of this battle, while I was at the Work Comp Appeals Board in Salinas, I saw my file for the first time. Everyone else had neat files. Mine was a big box overflowing with papers. I learned the system and buried them in paperwork. I learned all the rules and kept filing. I fought like hell to get the support I needed from the injuries I got while on the job.
Eventually, I won. I got a pay out of the benefits they were withholding from me for five years. They canceled my workers’ comp payments even though my injuries prevented me from working. I paid back everyone who helped me with this money. I paid back my mom more than I owed her. I bought my chiropractor a surfboard for his support throughout the battle. I took care of everyone who helped me.
This and seeking help for my alcoholism opened all kinds of doors. I can’t believe how much my life has changed. One of my best friends saw my apartment for the first time and couldn’t believe it.
I’ve been sober for over 11 months now. February 25th will be one year. I tried for years to do it myself and I couldn’t. Alcohol is everywhere. It’s cheap and it makes it hard to escape.
People experiencing homelessness should be treated with dignity because they are human beings. It affects everybody. Whether you’re homeless or not, business owners, residents, everyone. I hope we can all remember this when we cross paths with someone who is homeless next time.
