Michael and Colleen
Client Profile: Michael and Colleen
It all started two and a half years ago. North Beach resident Colleen Yerge was walking from her apartment on Water Street to the Trader Joe’s at Mason and Bay. On her way she passed a gentleman camped in front of San Jose Taqueria at Francisco and Mason. Not wanting to simply walk past him, Colleen asked the gentleman if he was ever hungry. He said yes of course.
Michael Richardson, known to some in the community as Raven, had been homeless off and on for 17 years when Colleen introduced herself to him. Enamored by San Francisco and its music scene, Michael had moved to the city as a young man to pursue his dream of becoming a professional guitar player. He had worked as a landscaper and later on as a public school janitor until he was let go for drinking a beer on school grounds at the end of his work day.
After his dismissal, Michael had trouble finding work and ended up applying for General Assistance (GA) as a stopgap. With a diminished income, Michael was forced to move to the Rose Hotel on 6th Street, one of the few hotels he could afford on GA alone. He lived there until the management decided to buy out its tenants, remodel the hotel, and raise the rent. With no option to stay at the Rose, Michael accepted the buyout and moved to another hotel where he lived until his GA benefits were discontinued after missing one meeting with his GA worker. With no income, no support network, and, consequently, no housing, he became homeless. Michael had been homeless in San Francisco for approximately 14 years when Colleen introduced herself.
After their introduction, Colleen began visiting Michael every time she shopped at Trader Joe’s. The two would generally only talk for 5 or 10 minutes, but she made a point of seeking him out and Michael quickly recognized this. Recalling one of her first visits with Michael, Colleen said, “The first time I called him by his name he couldn’t believe someone remembered his name.” The more and more the two talked the more Colleen wanted to do whatever she could to help Michael get off the streets, “It was something about his eyes…I couldn’t just keep passing him by.”
December 25th, 2007, Colleen was on her way to volunteer at Marc Bruno’s Christmas Dinner at Saints Peter & Paul Church. On her way Colleen invited Michael to the event. Unfortunately, Michael said that he couldn’t attend, though he would like to, because he couldn’t leave his belongings unattended.
Soon after, Colleen offered to store some of Michael’s belongings and, before she knew it, she was in a little bit over her head and wasn’t quite sure what to do next. Fortunately, Colleen had been donating clothing to North Beach Citizens (NBC) for the past couple of years and in her time of need contacted NBC.
Within a matter of days, Colleen introduced Kristie Fairchild and Brady McCartney of NBC to Michael and the four of them discussed the options available to a chronically homeless man and devised an action plan for Michael. Two weeks after being contacted by Colleen, NBC had advocated for Michael with its various community partners and executed every part of Michael’s action plan. February 5th, 2008, Michael moved into temporary housing and is currently taking the requisite steps to move into permanent supportive housing.