At the post office, a reminder that the homeless still need our help

DOWNEY – It was the first sort of rainy day that we have had in December, and there she stood, holding a black umbrella and her hand-lettered cardboard sign that said “Homeless. Please Help.”

Her name is Jennifer, and she remembered that we had talked before.

“I don’t have any money that I can give you,” I said. “But I’ll write about you for the newspaper. People will know we still have homeless in Downey.”

Jennifer had the grace to ask me if I had seen “the other older lady” that used to stand here too, in the small space between the cinder block wall at the entrance to Downey’s Main Post office on Firestone, and the bumper where cars pull in to park.

Jennifer probably meant white-haired Julie, who in spite of severe macular degeneration, somehow always had a smile.

“I haven’t seen her for months,” Jennifer said. We both hoped that she had gotten into some kind of shelter.

Jennifer wore a black mask, a black windbreaker, and jeans, with plastic grocery bags on her feet, tied at the ankle. Her hair was neatly trimmed and very short.

“May I take your picture?” I asked, but as before Jennifer didn’t want that.

“You never know who’s out there,” she said. “I had a stalker once, and I had to call the police.” So I’ll try to give a word’s eye view, as Chick Hearn used to say.

Jennifer is 60 now, and has had problems getting a job, as she has a bad employment record, pilfering money, I think. She served her time, but hasn’t been able to get work when she discloses that she has a record.

Two years ago, when I spoke with her, Jennifer had said she hoped to get a job, filing or cleaning. “I know I have to help myself,” she said then. “No one is going to do it for me. If they ask me to work, I’ll come.”

“What could anyone do now, that would help you?” I asked today.

“I’m waiting to get a Section Eight,” she said. “Soon I hope.”

Being eligible for Section Eight housing means getting a voucher from the Public Housing Authority whereby a housing subsidy is paid to the landlord directly by the PHA.

The PHAs receive federal funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to administer the voucher program. But many landlords do not want to rent to Section 8 people, because they get paid notoriously late, maybe six months after they submit the voucher.

The city also works with PATH (Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness) which funds services for people with serious mental illness, (SMI), who are experiencing homelessness. Again, those grant funds are restricted to those with SMI, and that wouldn’t seem to apply to Jennifer or Julie.

Since COVID began, the homeless in Downey have become less visible. They probably still sleep rough, although Jennifer has managed to keep her van, so she does not have to sleep out in the open or hang around an all-night McDonald’s or a hospital waiting room. That is what Julie and others did, if they didn’t receive enough money to pay for a motel room.

“Thank you, God bless you,” Jennifer said. “And have a nice weekend.”

Seeing Jennifer was proof that the homeless are with us still.