We met Kenneth on a hot Sunday evening outside of a Racetrack. We'd been searching for the locally infamous Queen City Pkwy. bridge in Gainesville, GA, but found Kenneth instead. We approached him and asked if he knew of any homeless people we could help. He said "Well I'm homeless, swear to God. And I'm hungry." We took him inside the Racetrack and bought him some food. He started to share his story with us after he finished eating.
"I've been homeless for six months. I didn't used to understand how people became homeless and stay homeless. Now that I've gotten out here in this, I see how some of them get stuck."
Kenneth is 41 years old. Before he was homeless he was working 17 hour days as a maintenance manager at a rock quarry, and doing manual labor such as roofing and painting. Years of hard physical work took a toll on his back. His vertebrae had begun to shift out of place. A jet ski accident forced him to get back surgery and he was unable to walk for six months. Six months later he got a blood infection and his kidneys shut down. These health issues forced Kenneth out to survive on the streets of Gainesville, GA.
Kenneth had it rough early in life. He was born in Auburn, GA but moved to Gainesville at the age of 11. His dad wasn't really in his life. Kenneth said his dad was only there when he could somehow benefit from it. Kenneth got into drugs when he was young. He eventually got clean but alienated himself from the rest of his family as a result of his drug use. He says he talks to them maybe once or twice a year. We asked him why he didn't reach out to his family to help him get off the streets. He said he didn't feel like it was their responsibility to look after him. He got himself into this situation and he was going to get himself out. He also has been married twice and has three kids.
Kenneth shared with us how he had lost his ID and the struggle it was to acquire them as a homeless person. He also shared how difficult it is to get a job without proper ID.
"When you've got no ID no one wants to give you any work because you're homeless. You can go out and pan handle all day but it'll just get you enough money to eat. But at the end of the day, there isn't enough money for you to get your IDs."
We asked Kenneth about his thoughts on the local homeless community.
"There are some people who have been living under the Queen City pkwy. bridge for 18-20 years. You can't help those people. There are people in homelessness who want out. Focus on those people. Help those people. Give them jobs. But then there are some who like being homeless. You can't help them."
A local halfway home for women and children pays under the table Kenneth to do odd jobs and paint throughout the week. We noticed his toe was very swollen and asked why he still walked miles every day to go work.
"Yea it's broken. And it'll probably get infected and I'll lose it if I keep walking on it. But I've got to. I never want to miss a day of work. You can sit around in the hot ass sun with nothing to eat or drink, or you can walk. You gotta do what you gotta do."
Kenneth is working to get himself off the streets.
"I'm going to buy shitty little trailer as soon as I can and work up from there. I plan on getting my IDs and a real job by next week."