In a nook of the room, beneath his desk, sits the outsized, army surplus backpack Daniel McClenon as soon as used to lug every part he owned round San Francisco. At night time, the bag turned a pillow to cushion his head towards the concrete as he slept exterior a Walgreens.
McClenon, a gifted artist grappling with habit and psychological sickness, now not has to sleep exterior on the bottom. He now has a mattress, a roof over his head and a bathe. Lower than two months after this information group revealed a narrative documenting McClenon’s struggles, the 39-year-old was lastly accepted into transitional housing in San Francisco after dwelling on the streets for years.
“Simply being behind a closed door and with the ability to simply sleep — that’s loopy,” McClenon stated. “I’m very a lot having fun with that.”
However McClenon’s good break, and the lengthy, convoluted journey that introduced him right here, exhibits how tough it's for the typical homeless individual to search out assist. It took a crew of devoted folks to get McClenon off the streets — from the nice Samaritan in Utah who was moved by McClenon’s story on MercuryNews.com to the nonprofit govt prepared to go to bat for the down-and-out artist.
It’s “a reminder of how difficult it may be for folk to get again on their ft and to navigate an usually dizzying array of issues and convolutions in our course of,” stated Joe Wilson, govt director of San Francisco-based nonprofit Hospitality Home.
And transferring indoors is just step one in what’s positive to be a troublesome street for McClenon. There’s nonetheless quite a bit to fret about, together with staying off medication, getting psychological well being care, therapeutic from years of trauma skilled whereas homeless, touchdown a job and discovering his personal residence.
“I’m simply barely beginning to attempt to get my life again collectively,” he stated.
McClenon has impressed numerous passersby with the hyper-realistic artistic endeavors he creates with chalk, charcoal and ballpoint pens whereas sitting on the sidewalk exterior the Westfield San Francisco Centre mall on Market Road. Hospitality Home, which helps homeless and struggling artists, hosted an exhibition of his work earlier this yr. His poignant drawings of a homeless man and of Michelangelo’s well-known Pieta — a sculpture of a dull Jesus within the lap of his grieving mom — offered for a whole lot of dollars every. However his apparent creative expertise did nothing to assist him qualify for sponsored housing, both in San Francisco or in San Jose, the place he’s from.
Issues started to vary when a stranger two states away stumbled upon a hyperlink to McClenon’s story whereas looking Fb from his lounge on a Saturday afternoon in June. By the point Kurt Horspool completed the story, he was in tears.
“It actually hit me,” stated Horspool, who works at a psychological well being and substance abuse therapy heart for younger folks. “I’m an enormous believer in folks and their potential. Typically they only want an opportunity, somebody to assist them determine it out and join with them.”
Horspool jumped into motion, messaging McClenon on Instagram to introduce himself and supply his companies. He booked a keep for the artist at a hostel close to San Francisco’s Union Sq. to be able to shortly get him off the road. Horspool ordered McClenon an Uber to the hostel and stayed on the cellphone with him whereas he checked in. However they shortly bumped into an issue — the Orange Village Hostel wouldn’t let McClenon keep as a result of he’s a San Francisco resident. After getting his hopes up, he had no alternative however to return to the road for the night time.
“It was heartbreaking,” Horspool stated.
Orange Village Supervisor Steve Track informed this information group the no-locals rule is designed to maintain out homeless visitors who, he stated, have induced bother prior to now.
Two days later, Horspool acquired McClenon a room at a lodge in Daly Metropolis after which at a hostel in Fisherman’s Wharf. Once more, he paid for Ubers to take McClenon to and from the methadone clinic the place he receives remedy to assist him keep off heroin.
Horspool declined to say how a lot he spent on McClenon however acknowledged it was “fairly a bit.”
On the similar time, he was working to search out McClenon someplace to stay extra long-term. He reached out to a connection he had at Hospitality Home and satisfied Wilson to assist.
Wilson and his crew started advocating for McClenon throughout the metropolis’s homeless companies community. Finally they persuaded town to offer him a room at a former youth hostel on Publish Road that was transformed into transitional homeless housing earlier this yr. McClenon moved in in the beginning of August.
The town’s Division of Homelessness and Supportive Housing wouldn’t touch upon McClenon’s case or why he was capable of get housing now after attempting and failing for therefore lengthy.
“We attempt our greatest to match the wants of the individual with what we've got obtainable at the moment,” stated spokesman Denny Machuca-Grebe.
On the Publish Road facility, which expenses no lease as a result of it’s categorized as a shelter, McClenon has a small room and personal lavatory to himself. He likes to feed the pigeons that land exterior his open window.
Issues are wanting up. McClenon acquired a brand new Social Safety card, which implies he can begin making use of for jobs — he’s contemplating going into development or educating artwork courses at Hospitality Home. He acquired a haircut shortly after transferring in, trimming away the grey that had are available in prematurely whereas he was below fixed stress throughout his years of road dwelling.
It grew again black.
“He appears more healthy,” stated Nicholas Parise, a program coordinator at Hospitality Home who has been working with McClenon. “He appears happier.”
However for the artist, there's nonetheless no fairy-tale ending. McClenon probably can keep at Publish Road for no less than a yr earlier than he’ll want to search out one other place to stay. He has but to get any assist navigating town’s confounding maze of functions and waitlists for low-income housing. Neither is he getting the psychological well being therapy he desperately needs for his anxiousness and PTSD.
That’s as a result of town hasn’t stepped as much as present the housing assets, job gala's, counseling and different companies these dwelling at Publish Road want, stated Brian Shepperd, a director at City Alchemy who oversees the positioning.
“We have now residents right here who deserve a a lot increased degree of care than we’re capable of present,” he stated.
McClenon finds himself falling into despair typically as he sits in his room alone, dwelling on his previous. He feels remoted — the constructing has a no-guest coverage — and is wracked with survivor’s guilt as a result of he acquired inside whereas so many are nonetheless on the road.
“It doesn’t make me really feel good,” he stated.
Admittedly, he’s fallen right into a little bit of a creative stoop these days. His newest mission, performed with chalk and charcoal on a chunk of cardboard, is a portrait of Robert Oppenheimer. The artist discovered himself drawn to the conflicted nature of the daddy of the atomic bomb.
McClenon’s supporters are decided to not let him fall by way of the cracks once more. Horspool plans to come back to the Bay Space quickly to fulfill McClenon in individual and assist him get psychological well being care and a gradual revenue. After that, he says he’s dedicated to serving to McClenon discover everlasting housing.
“It’s simply, ‘Hey, buddy, I care, and I’ll enable you to nonetheless I can,’ ” Horspool stated. “And I believe Daniel wanted somebody to care.”