Page 6
T im e
b y H e n ry M ille r
Eric S.
We take our time for granted
As we go through our daily life
Whether it be spent in pleasure
Or in frustration with our strife
BY M EGHANN VA N PELT
STAFF WRITER
The clocks are always ticking
As we go throughout our days
Some waste their time so easily
Not really thinking of their ways
Few of us seem to realize
How truly precious time can be
For those we spend today with
We may never again in life see
Our time should be dearly cherished
Never wasted on what has past
You never know what tomorrow brings
Nor which moment will be your last
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rik S. left Denver for Portland in
1998. His parents were living here in
a house inherited from Erik’s
grandparents.
“I wanted to keep an eye on them and
see how they were doing,” he said.
Erik had been working and living with his
parents until his mother’s death in February
2016, when things quickly changed for him.
“Her death kind of threw me in a
downward spiral. It was just processed too
quickly. I didn’t know what to do.”
Erik lost a place to call home and, soon
thereafter, steady employment.
He said this is his first time
experiencing homelessness: “It’s
overwhelming. Nobody expects it.
Erik found a place to spend
nights at City Team Ministries,
an overnight men’s shelter in
Southeast Portland. There he
has met new friends and found
some semblance of structure
as he moves forward.
Things can be tense at the
shelter with the
inevitability of lost items,
personality differences,
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For some it’s planned quite strictly
Every single moment do they count
Keeping everyone on a schedule
Yet not tracking the true amount
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Street Roots • March 31 -April 6, 2017
Vendors
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Erik remains positive about the situation as
a whole.
Even when things are difficult living in a
shelter, Erik is aware of his own
shortcomings and tries not to take little
situations too seriously. “I’ve got to catch
myself sometimes,” he said.
He shared a story about a missing black
hat of his that, upon recognizing it was gone
for good, he
jokingly
and long nights, but
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demanded the forensics unit stop everything
to look for it. As he tries to navigate his new
situation, Erik takes time to reflect upon all
he has learned along the way.
“One thing I discovered, though, when
you are homeless, you really have to open
up to people. You do not have to tell them
your whole life story, but you need to talk to
people, learn things that are going on; you’ll
start making friends.”
Erik remains grateful for what he has
gained despite the loss of his mother and
his former way of life.
“You start realizing how much people
really do care about you,” he said. “Even
though you’re homeless, there’s still a
group of people that kind of watch your
back, kind of take care of you.”
Erik heard about Street Roots
through friends at City Team and
has been selling the paper for a few
months with the advice of other
Street Roots vendors about best
sales practices. Erik can be found
selling Street Roots at the
Starbucks in the Pearl District.
In the meantime, Erik is
patiently taking life one day
at a time.
“I still want my own
place, my own bed,” he
said. “I’m still
overwhelmed, still
trying to figure things
out, but I’m working on
it.”
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