Friday, December 17, 1999
Man needs help furnishing own place
BY DANA DiFILIPPO
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Terry Walls has neck and vertebrae injuries.
(Glenn Hartong photo)
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Terry Walls has been homeless for 13 years.
Sometimes, he has stayed in friends' garages and spare rooms. When he worked in construction, he often spent nights at the unfinished building sites where he spent his days painting, wiring and hanging drywall.
He learned how to create the comforts of home in spaces he borrowed from others. An old recliner stored next to the motorcycle in a friend's garage was his bed. A neighborhood bar became the answer to his bathroom needs. Local community agencies provided food and a safe haven to spend his days.
Last month, the 33-year-old Price Hill man finally moved into his own apartment on Neave Street.
Now, he needs furniture and a chair with a hydraulic lift to ease access to his apartment.
A 1991 work-related injury and a June car wreck left Mr. Walls with lingering, painful neck and vertebrae injuries. He uses crutches to walk and has trouble navigating stairs.
A high-school dropout, Mr. Walls can't perform the physical labor construction requires.
Without a job, he has no money to buy furniture or the chair lift. (He lives in his subsidized apartment rent-free until he gets a job.)
He now sleeps in a sleeping bag borrowed from a friend. He has an oven and stove but no pots or pans with which to cook. He has no chairs to sit in or lamps to lend light.
Still, he smiles broadly when he talks of his new apartment, his eyes crinkling through thick, cracked glasses.
“It's got a bathroom! That's the best part,” he said, proudly showing off his wordy 14-page lease. “It's been a while since I had my own place. That's something to think about.”
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