Homeless in the Land of Plenty – Part XI
February 7, 2010 by The Catskill Chronicle
Story and photos by Ted Waddell
MONTICELLO– Times are tough for 20-year old Matthew Mann and his girlfriend Christina Conklin, 34, and even more so for nine-month old Ryan.
Especially when they got a notice from the landlord kicking them out of the apartment at 33 St. John Street that they were sharing with one of Conklin’s girl friends, a single mom with four kids of her own.
Three adults, four kids and a little baby make for some pretty cramped quarters in an apartment no matter how you cut it.
As a perfect example of hard times in the county, Conklin said that when the folks from Child Protective Services (CPS) came calling one day, they found “mold and a number of violations, and the landlord just don’t want to deal with 30 days, so he said everybody had to get out so he could fix it up.”
Mann said he’s looking for a job, but isn’t having any luck finding any work as times are rough these days in a county hard hit by economic trouble, as the woes of Wall Street trickle down to Main Street, Anywhere, USA.
“I’m looking for a job, whatever is available really,” he said.
His take on getting kicked out of the shared apartment, which according to the federal definition of “homeless” (a person is considered homeless if they “lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence…”) qualifies them to be “Homeless in the Land of Plenty.”
“We’ve had to be out in two weeks, the landlord sent a notice cause we’re living with a friend who actually paid for the apartment, but hasn’t been paying rent…it got ‘condemned’ so all eight of us had to get out,” said Mann.
Happy New Year 2010 folks, you’re out of a place to call home and your baby needs a little shelter from the storm.
The other day they showed up at the county’s only soup kitchen to grab a hot lunch and get some help from the Sullivan County Federation for the Homeless (SCFH) in finding a place to live.
“This is the first time I’ve ever had to deal with the homeless part you know, I just usually come here to eat,” said Conklin.
*To read the next two installments in this series visit our section – Homeless in the Land of Plenty – A Series and look for more updates on this important topic in the near future.
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The Catskill Chronicle 
Homeless in the Land of Plenty – Part XI
February 7, 2010 by The Catskill Chronicle
Story and photos by Ted Waddell
MONTICELLO– Times are tough for 20-year old Matthew Mann and his girlfriend Christina Conklin, 34, and even more so for nine-month old Ryan.
Especially when they got a notice from the landlord kicking them out of the apartment at 33 St. John Street that they were sharing with one of Conklin’s girl friends, a single mom with four kids of her own.
Three adults, four kids and a little baby make for some pretty cramped quarters in an apartment no matter how you cut it.
As a perfect example of hard times in the county, Conklin said that when the folks from Child Protective Services (CPS) came calling one day, they found “mold and a number of violations, and the landlord just don’t want to deal with 30 days, so he said everybody had to get out so he could fix it up.”
Mann said he’s looking for a job, but isn’t having any luck finding any work as times are rough these days in a county hard hit by economic trouble, as the woes of Wall Street trickle down to Main Street, Anywhere, USA.
“I’m looking for a job, whatever is available really,” he said.
His take on getting kicked out of the shared apartment, which according to the federal definition of “homeless” (a person is considered homeless if they “lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence…”) qualifies them to be “Homeless in the Land of Plenty.”
“We’ve had to be out in two weeks, the landlord sent a notice cause we’re living with a friend who actually paid for the apartment, but hasn’t been paying rent…it got ‘condemned’ so all eight of us had to get out,” said Mann.
Happy New Year 2010 folks, you’re out of a place to call home and your baby needs a little shelter from the storm.
The other day they showed up at the county’s only soup kitchen to grab a hot lunch and get some help from the Sullivan County Federation for the Homeless (SCFH) in finding a place to live.
“This is the first time I’ve ever had to deal with the homeless part you know, I just usually come here to eat,” said Conklin.
*To read the next two installments in this series visit our section – Homeless in the Land of Plenty – A Series and look for more updates on this important topic in the near future.
Click any service in this box to share this post with your friends!
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