homeless_coalition05.jpg
Mike Paglia, (left), talks with Moss Bliss Director of the Asheville Homeless Network in “the perch,” at the Grove Arcade where they meet every Thursday at 2 p.m.

by Lisa V. Gillespie

Gerald “Moss” Bliss fights homelessness in Asheville in an attempt to empower those marginalized by society through the Asheville Homeless Network.

Shelter Plus Care provides housing and supportive services on a long-term basis for homeless people with disabilities, and Bliss has Bipolar Disorder, which qualifies him for a subsidized apartment.

“We hope to give a sense of belonging, and if that’s all we ever do, it’s enough,” Bliss said. “When we get donations, we do other things to help people. We just gave out a bus pass to someone because he came with a print-out from the employment office that said he was out looking for work.”

Bliss quit
doctor-prescribed psychotropic drugs for four years and is the
president of the Asheville Homeless Network, an organization formed
five years ago by a woman sleeping on Bliss’ couch at the time. Members
meet and give support, according to Bliss.


Asheville Buncombe Coalition found 598 homeless people in Asheville
living on the streets, in shelters and in transitional housing programs
in 2006; 199 of these live outdoors, in cars or abandoned buildings.


“When I came to Asheville in 1998, I didn’t really have anything. I
couldn’t get a job in this town, and I finally got off my high horse
and applied for disability, and for a period of two months I was living
in a tent on the river,” Bliss said. “My friend owned the property, and
at the time, I was working as program director for Free Radio
Asheville. My friend had a car battery charged up and a trailer that
I’d keep my records and stereo in to record my shows in advance, and
I’d then walk or hitchhike into town.”


A homeless person is someone who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate
nighttime residence or an individual who has a primary nighttime
residence that is public or temporary, according to the U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development.


“There are a large number of legislators who believe that anything more
would be creating a “nanny” government,” Bliss said. “It is true that
if any level of government decided to get fully involved, the problem
could be solved.”


In the mid-1990s in New York, families stayed in a shelter an average
of five months before moving on to permanent housing. Today, the
average stay is seven months, and some surveys report the average as
closer to a year, according to the U. S. Conference of Mayors.


“There are only 200 shelter beds and many are restricted by gender or
age, plus there are no family shelters in Asheville,” Bliss said.
“Usually there are women and children on one floor and the men on
another. We are breaking up marriages and long-term relationships by
not letting people be together. That’s the biggest need of shelters in
this town.”


Once in housing, most homeless people want to work, even if they have
disabilities, according to Homeward Bound, an Asheville organization
working to end chronic homelessness.


At a weekly meeting of the Asheville Homeless Network, Jerry and Jeff
Boone, originally from Asheville, talk about their situation living
together in public housing. With a degenerative spine and three work
injuries to the same knee, Jeff tried to work for three months at a
cloth store, but his body wouldn’t hold up.


“Our mother lives in Asheville, but she’s on Medicaid and a fixed
income; if she could help, she would,” Jeff said. “I worked at BASF
Plastics for 10 years and had injuries. I got workers comp, but that’s
only temporary. Because I had machinery fall on the same knee so many
times, it’s now chronic.”


Approximately 16 percent of the single adult homeless population
suffers from some form of severe and persistent mental illness, but
only 5 to 7 percent of homeless people with mental illness require
institutionalization. Most can live in the community with the
appropriate supportive housing options, according to the Federal Task
Force on Homelessness and Severe Mental Illness.


“I’m labeled as bipolar,” Bliss said. “A lot of homeless people are
marginalized as being mentally ill, whether they are or not.”


Mike Paglia, 39, just moved to Asheville from Greenville, S.C., after
separating from his wife because, he said, of his inability to work. He
is a freelance cartoonist, lately unable to get work. He is currently
trying to find a new place to live but more frequently gets anxiety
attacks and mini-seizures because of his epilepsy and Dandy-Walker
syndrome.


He said he blames himself when people do not call him back for housing
because, “I babble too much and can’t get my head straight.”


“I set up a time, I get a ride so I can get there earlier, and then I
call to get directions, and she doesn’t call back. So now I’m dipping
into my rent money, I’m down to $400,” Paglia said. “I’ve been denied
twice for disability and I don’t want to be homeless; it’s a degrading
thing.”


Paglia must move soon due to his roommate breaking the lease.


“Last night, I was turned down for a room and was pretty upset, and my
roommate tells me that I should go back to my wife,” Paglia said. “I
came to Asheville because it was a nice place, I’ve met a lot of people
online, and since I’ve been here I got a library card, a P.O. box, and
to throw that all away, I can’t do that.”