Hoping to Renew His Social Security, Waiting for the Overflow
Like many on the streets, for Derrick Pillors, who used to work steady jobs before his life got derailed, preoccupations are both macro — how will I get income again? — and micro — where will I sleep tonight?
Pillors says he also recently stopped getting his Social Security check. He says a stop payment was put on his check recently because government agencies didn’t have an address for him anymore. Now, he’s in a waiting period trying to get those payments back.
“Right now my goal is just to get my check and my other goal right now is to wait until 9:00 p.m. for the overflow [shelter to open] and get a good night’s sleep.”
When we met him, Pillors had just recently started staying at a shelter again, something he’s been reluctant to do after his past experiences there.
“I have gotten bronchitis twice and pneumonia once [there],” Pillors said. “So that’s why I’m a little bit weary of the shelter. I almost died when I went in there with all those germs man, it’s crazy.”
Pillors says he’s still trying to find work where he can. In the past, he says he’s worked for Street Vibrations and he remembers they had paid him pretty well. This past summer, he says he was looking for the same former employer and finally found him during Reno’s Garlic Festival.
“I walked from tent to tent [every day] and I didn’t see him until the last night when they were cleaning up,” Pillors said, shaking his head. “He was nice enough to help me out with ten bucks or something, you know, but that could have easily been a $200 plus week for me.”
For those who say the homeless should just get a job, Pillors says it’s not always that easy, even if unemployment is low right now.
“It’s hard to work and not have a place to stay,” he said. “It’s tough. But maybe I can try and kick it in gear and work out a little schedule as work coincides with me [staying] at the overflow.”
Pillors says he believes hotels and casinos in Reno could do a little more to give back to the homeless population, given their role in the community.
Ideas for Reno, Including a Big Building and Regular Barbecue
In the meantime, Pillors says he would like to see projects big and small put in place for the homeless population in Reno. One project he affectionately refers to as his “Club Men’s Shelter.” This new shelter would be fully furnished with a gymnasium, swimming pool, and weights.
“I don’t understand why [the city] don’t just make a really big building with enough room for everybody to come in off the street,” Pillors said. “I would make the shelter livable, but at the same time people would realize they’re not here to live. They’re passing through to get their situation better and move on to make room for the next guy coming by.”
“I’d also like to see a big barbecue for the homeless people [considering] all the money and revenue that is lost in gambling,” Pillors said of something casinos and downtown hotels could do to give back. “I know these hotels, instead of just once at Christmas and Thanksgiving, maybe every two months or something just have a big barbecue for the little guys that made your establishment what they are today.”
Pillors says he doesn’t blame others for his plight, and that he turns to religion to keep his confidence.
“It’s tough [being on the street] man, it’s a tough grind,” Pillors said. “But I respect law enforcement and I respect the law. I respect Reno, as a city. I think it’s a great city with a lot of opportunity, actually, I just have to take more advantage of things.”
When asked what his motivation is moving forward through his recent hardships, his answer was quite simple: “Honestly, I have to say my Heavenly Father. That’s my one and only answer to that,” Pillors said. “[With] the opportunity that each day presents, good things can happen in His name everyday.”