April 27, 2008

Dear Friends:

Please meet my friend Troy McCullough. I was sitting in my warm car waiting for the doors to open at a conference I was attending at 6:45am this past Saturday morning, in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood, when I observed something across the street out in front of the “Streetwise” offices, where poor folks wait for the doors to open to get their magazines to sell for the day. There was one man standing there in the cold. He was solitudinal, he looked lonely and cold, but there was an effervesence about him. He was wearing a raggety shirt and tie, but you could tell he was working hard and he had a mission. I left my warm car to walk over to this man. I introduced myself, and what I found out in the next 45 minutes changed me forever.

His name is Troy Mccullough. I invited Troy in to my car to warm up and we got to know one another. I ended up being late to the conference, but I walked in to steal some fresh fruit and water for Troy before we parted ways that morning. Troy is 52 years old and he is a sterling example of a fighter who caught a few bad breaks in life. The harsh reality is that we are all a few bad breaks from Troy’s reality. Troy never did drugs or drank. His wife, and the mother of his two children, died in 1996. That crushed him. It didn’t get much easier in 1998 when Troy, a laborer who was only provided with pay and benefits when he was physically able to work, had a major stroke. He lost sight in one eye and lost significant feeling in one leg. He was forced to stop work and his benefits only covered him for a certain period of time. Troy was sent to a nursing home in Chicago. Exactly one year ago, the nursing home decided that Troy had to be removed because it was costing them too much and he had no money, no source of income, and no long term care coverage. Troy was sent to the streets. He has been living in alleys, parks, churches, and missions for the past year. This is tough because Troy is a diabetic he has some ongoing special medical needs, and he needs a warm place to sleep each night. He is always the first in line at StreetWise so he can get his magazines and get to the corner of Michigan and Delaware first thing in the morning so he can raise $45 that day and thus get a restful night sleep in the hotel. Troy has amazing discipline considering the circumstances and hasn’t missed Sunday chuch once in the last year.

To test Troy and see how much he really wanted help, I asked him to meet me outside of my conference again on Sunday morning at 7am, when we could talk more about improving his life. Sure enough, on Sunday when I pulled up Troy was standing there at 6:45am with his best suit and tie on, waiting for me. Troy and I talked further and I invited my friend Kevin, who has experience working with the homeless, to meet Troy. Kevin’s evaluation was the same as mine. This is a great person who was struck by tragedies in life.

So… I gave Troy $200. To say he was thankful was an understatement. His eyes welled with tears. He said he had been praying every day for a savior, and I was it.

The reality was that I am not a savior because $200 won’t get Troy all that far. It will take a community to help Troy. Troy needs a place to sleep every night where he has some privacy and a warm home to care for his ailments. He needs access to some form of medical care. He needs a system that transcends just what $200 can provide him with.

So… I ask you to help me, help Troy. I have identified the following for Troy:

If we can raise $10,300 for Troy we can do the following for him:

1. Get him a warm, cozy studio apartment at $450 per month for one year in Chicago and $75 per month for utilities (gas, electric, basic phone/cable) ($6,300 total)
2. Get him a bed, a sofa, a small TV (he really likes his TV shows when he does get a night in a hotel) a few other furnishings, and an updated wardrobe from the Salvation Army or another second hand store ($1,000 total)
3. Get Troy a $150 monthly allowance for groceries via delivery from PeaPod (Troy has no car and it is hard for him to walk with his Diabetes) ($1,800 total)
4. Put $100 per month towards a medical plan with one of the low income clinics in the city such that Troy can have access to better and more consistent medical coverage.($1,200 total)

Troy would have to continue to work selling StreetWise every day unless there is another form of income he can find. Since we would be paying virtually all of his primary expenses for one full year I would work with Troy on setting up a bank account where he can save at least 70% of his earnings. If he can make $40 per day, 6 days per week selling StreetWise Troy can make $12,480, enough for him to afford all of his expenses for the following year. Truly remarkable!

Please help in donating to Troy McCullough. He is a good man and needs our help. Whether your gift is $5 or $500 it will be appreciated… and you can be a part of changing the life of a very special, but a very unlucky man. If we don’t help this man he will probably not survive another winter on the streets.