We met CR (Charles Ronald Tucker) in a Chick-Fil-A parking lot, just outside of Clemson, SC. I took him inside to buy him a meal and listen to his story.
He told me this is the second time he's been homeless. The first time he was homeless for about six months, and living in the woods behind a Bi-Lo in Seneca, SC. He struggled with alcoholism and decided to check himself into rehab. After he overcame his addiction, and got out of rehab, he met a girl. He began dating her and moved into her apartment.
CR had cleaned up his life. He overcame alcoholism, had a place to stay, a driver's license, a car, and enough work to pay the rent. Things were looking up for him. Then one day his girlfriend was arrested for a mix up on child support. She went to jail, and because CR wasn't on the lease to her apartment, he was thrown onto the streets.
CR returned to the woods behind the Bi-Lo. He occasionally finds an abandoned house to sleep in but typically spends his nights sleeping on the trash in an alley behind the Bi-Lo or in the ground in the woods. This has been his life for the past four weeks.
"The hardest part about being homeless is when I look at you, and you look at me, I feel ashamed of myself. I haven't showered in days, so I might stink. I haven't changed clothes in six days, so I know I stink. I usually just try to avoid people. People don't realize. People look at me and say 'oh well uh you ain't got no teeth' and 'you this and that'. But it don't matter. I'm still a human being. I've got feelings. I'm a human being and I love people. I'll sit down and wash your feet in a bucket of water, if that's what you require. Being homeless is not a good thing. People need to go easier on us. Don't judge me for how you see me right this minute. Cause I'm not a bad person. I'm just having a bad time. Everybody has bad times in life. Look inside yourself and look inside me because there's nothing I wouldn't do for you. Don't judge me for being homeless, because I'm capable of doing anything."
CR cares deeply for people. In fact, he sends almost every penny he makes to his girlfriend in prison.
"Out here I have options. I can dumpster dive or something. In there she doesn't have a choice."
I don't know many people who would do something like that. Someone who would dumpster dive for food so they could take care of a loved one in prison. CR says his faith in God keeps him going. And music. He says music helps him worship God. It let's him know God is still with him and he is able to carry on. CR loves people and he loves God.
CR also shared some of the difficulties someone in his position faces in getting a job.
"It's difficult to get a job because I don't have an address. I'm dirty. I stink. My hair's not washed. But being homeless has made me a harder worker and tougher person."
CR makes money doing odd jobs and keeping a sign out when he's on the street letting people know he's "accepting donations". He doesn't ask for anything. He just waits for people to give out of the goodness of their hearts. CR has been waiting to get a job at the local Salvation Army thrift store with no luck. He says they never have applications for him.
CR is a better man than most I've met. He's honest and willing to make sacrifices for fellow humans. He doesn't want anything more than to be accepted back into society. He wants a way to provide for himself and his loved ones. He wants a place to lay his head down without worrying about getting robbed, injured, or treated like trash. He wants his dignity back.
CR wants to be human like you and I.