| Homeless, like you |
By: JIM HAMMERAND, Staff Writer
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Posted: Wednesday, November 18, 2009 12:06 am
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Leonard Muya, 37, became homeless after he lost his job in 2006. Since then, he’s lived on and off in Rice County homeless camps and most recently in a Northfield shelter.
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Leonard Muya is just like you or someone you know.
He went to the University of Minnesota. He had a wife, a home and a car that he drove to the Faribault factory where he worked.
Then, just like you or someone you know, he got divorced. Then, just like you or someone you know, he lost his job. And his car. And his home.
For about the past 36 months, Muya has lived in the shadows of civilization, staying under Minnesota bridges and along wooded rivers. This week, the 37-year-old left the county’s only shelter, here in Northfield, and hopes to move into an apartment and break free of the cycle that keeps the homeless without homes.
The Northfield shelter where Muya spent the past two weeks is a simple two-bedroom cottage with four beds and a couch. The Community Action Center runs the shelter, which gives priority to families with what director Jim Blaha said are limited resources.
Blaha called Muya a “gentle, neat and articulate” person and an example that homelessness is closer than some may think.
“If you get to talk to somebody (who’s homeless), your heart starts to put you in their shoes and you see you could be just a heartbeat or a paycheck away from being there,” he said.
Leaning forward in a Northfield restaurant booth Monday, Muya explained how it came to be. The son of a Navy man, he traveled the country and world at a young age. He graduated from an Indiana high school, and in 1999 began studying mechanical engineering at the University of Minnesota. He ran out of money for tuition, lab fees and books after, but didn’t need a college degree to drive a forklift.
When he and his wife divorced in 2005, he still had the job. The following February, he said, he was laid off. Without steady work he fell behind on bills, ran up his credit and said goodbye to his late ‘90s Honda Accord.
“I had to sell it just to keep up with rent,” Muya said.
The cash flow was temporary. He was living in a homeless camp by summer, a place he never thought he would be.
“I never did. It happened just out of the blue,” he said. “I never knew there were homeless camps in the area.”
Before he lost his home, court records show he had a couple of traffic tickets and a drunken driving conviction. Between then and 2007, he’s been convicted of misdemeanors like theft, disorderly conduct and falsely reporting police misconduct.
He said he shared camps with families, military veterans, a former psychology professor and more than one unemployed corporate executive. In warmer months, he estimated, as many as 300 people live in tents under bridges and in urban woods, out of sight but not beyond biking range from the Rice County government campus in Faribault. Some are addicted to drugs, others to alcohol, hoping to pass out when it was too cold to sleep.
“A lot of times you see people drinking and using drugs not because they wanted to, but because they wanted to forget,” he said. Suicides were not uncommon — Muya said he knew five homeless people who died at their own hands.
The camps have rules — keep things clean, quiet and don’t attract the attention of police — and a hierarchy of power, with the oldest at the top and youngest at the bottom. But its residents lacked the two things that Muya said the homeless need to get steady work: a permanent address and transportation.
“You don’t have a place to take a shower, you don’t have a place to have a phone or cook a meal when you get done with work,” he said. And without work or substantial assistance, Muya said, the homeless can’t get an address or reliable transportation.
“That’s how you get out of being homeless — by getting a job,” he said.
But Tuesday, Muya was one day closer to getting an address, and $20 away from getting a bike.
The day before, he left the shelter to make room for a homeless family. A federal stimulus grant passed through a Rice County nonprofit helped Muya secure $470 a month for rent, a subsidy that will decrease if he can find a job.
He figures he can get a bike if he saves for a bit, but what little savings he has will go toward security deposits for utilities and to buy basic housewares.
“I’m going to have to start from scratch,” he said.
LEONARD SPEAKS: Leonard Muya will speak on homelessness at the Community Resource Center, 1651 Jefferson Parkway, at 7 p.m. Thursday. A bonfire and sleep out will follow at Bridge Square.
— Jim Hammerand covers the city. He can be reached at jhammerand@northfieldnews.com or 645-1114. |
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Guidelines: Welcome to the Northfield News community. Please keep your comments civil. Don't attack other readers personally and keep your language decent. If you would like to report abuse click here to notify us.
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Member Opinions:
By: fedupwithnorthfield on 11/19/09
Why did the NNews choose a black man to represent the face of homelessness in Northfield? In a city with a majority of white people, I find it weird, what are you implying?
By: bradybunch on 11/19/09
I would guess that it is because he is going to be speaking at the Community Resourse Center. At least that makes sense to me.
By: tch on 11/19/09
Last I checked, the National Guard has full time positions. I don't know if his convictions for theft would preclude his signing up for the Guard or not. They aren't felonies, so they may take him in and it beats the heck out of living on the street and stealing from people. He may even be able to get the finangin to finish his college education. As for being "just like me", well, not. I've been unemployed before and struggling financially, but I would never, regardless of how bad things got, or could get at some point in the future, steal from others. There are always options to get a guy back on his feet, as long as they are willing to do what it takes to get there, even if it means flipping burgers at McDonald's.
By: ecseb8 on 11/20/09
The point is that we HAVE homelessness in Rice County. This is simply one person. He is speaking about his experience. We need to listen--For there but the grace of God go we.
By: bradybunch on 11/20/09
Here, Here! Thank you ecseb8!!!
By: John316 on 11/23/09
I have recorded an interview with Carleton college to counter this gross invasion of my privacy! Why did they decided to delete my comment? I will say it again, I am not black but brown so keep you racist remarks to yourself. I also would not join the National Guard and fight a war to kill women and children for our oil interests and imperialistic ambitions. I did not consent to anybody doing a background check and have it published in your newspaper. I gave a speech and detailed how homeless people commit crimes to go to jail so they can get shelter in the winter time. What kind of journalistic integrity is this? I did not approach this paper YOU approached me so I am asking to please remove this article which has distorted facts and published subjective news for their own selfish interests. Leonard Muya. cc: Southwestern Legal Aide. Office of Lori Swanson Journal Intergrity:Washington D.C.
By: John316 on 11/23/09
I DID NOT talk with Jim about "inclusion" of my criminal history, that is a blatant lie from him and the fact that you decided to delete my counter-comment after racist remarks were posted shows that have you have decided to spin this story to catch headlines for your own selfish agenda. Why would anyone comment about me being black? Who cares in this day and age? I find that offensive and will defend my integrity from unprofessional journalism from your paper that misrepresent and distort facts. You did not attend the meeting which was centered on expanding the shelter in Faribault/Northfield area and not about peoples privacy! Go ahead and get the satisfaction that you will get by lying and distorting facts, if that makes you a better person then I pray that God will open your shallow minds. I know that my records can be accessed, that it public information, and I have nothing to hide. Your newspaper's unprofessional journalism is so evident that is why Carleton college called me today morning to correct your misrepresentation and recorded a more accurate interview that depicts what I told Jim. This article was not about me but the plight of elder homeless Vets that have sacrificed to fight for our country. I did not approach your newspaper, Jim called me implying that he was reporting on the meeting we had on CAC and that is why I decided to talk to him. If I wanted to conduct an interview on my personal experiences on homeless awareness I would chosen I more reputable paper like Star Tribune and Pioneer Press. I hope your paper has profited from my plight and that of those I camped with because one day you will pay for those you trample down. sincerely Leonard.
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