Ceclia Holmes profiled by Dwight Hobbes
Ceclia Holmes profiled by Dwight Hobbes
Ceclia Holmes profiled by Dwight Hobbes
And A Hard Place/Cecilia Holmes
Dwight Hobbes/MN Spokesman-Recorder
"I'm glad there's no Black people in the building", Cecilia Holmes
flatly states, staring at with me a concentrated gaze in a perfectly
straight face. It may sound like a bigoted statement, but Holmes, who
is Black, herself, doesn't say this because she thinks White people
are better. She simply has seen too many instances in the past of her
own people running down their apartment buildings, turning them into
magnets for drug dealers, hookers and, eventually, police call after
police call. She spent more than 10 years homeless, shuttling from
shelter to shelter, from friends' couches to friends' couches,
sometimes just walking the street and is not the least bit interested,
especially as hard as economic times are these days, in winding up on
her behind again. Certainly not because some knucklehead who can't
resist living up to a stereotype makes it hard for others. Landlords,
like anyone else, can be guilty of lumping people in a category and
deciding, "Okay, that's it. No more government clients. They're more
trouble than they are worth." Point in case, Holmes' upstairs
neighbor, also a recipient of government funding, is a living,
breathing nuisance. When he gets a check it's all about letting the
good times roll. All night. As loudly as humanly possible. People
coming and going all day and odd hours of the evening, arguments,
music playing full blast. The landlord finally got fed up and served
him notice of eviction. As of this writing he'll be gone by the end
of the month. "I'm not trying to get put out along with that fool.
I'm quiet, keep to myself and have a nice home, here. I want to keep
it, thank you very much."
Holmes is 60. Her fixed income is derived from Hennepin County
General Assistance and a state program. She used to work as a nurse's
aide, but can't anymore, owing to back and hip problems. In the event
that she is able to pick up a part-time job here or there, she's not
allowed to earn anymore than $50 in a given month or her county
benefits are forfeit.
She strives diligently with success to make her meager ends meet
in the face of an environment that is brutal on one's spending
dollar. There are convenience stores in her South Minneapolis
neighborhood, a short bus ride from downtown, but she'll go right past
them and hit the supermarkets up and down Lake Street. "Those little
stores can cost big money when you add it up. Way too much. I buy
eggs at one place, produce at another. It depends on who has the best
savings that particular week. I buy my chicken wings and things like
that at [a meat store]." What about clothing? "I'm fine with
clothes. Haven't bought a new outfit since I can remember. But, I
have nice things if I want to go out somewhere. If I really need
something, I can go to the second-hand store. But, I don't need
much."
An old adage says you are rich in relation to the number of things you
don't have to have. That being case, Holmes is, so to speak, wealthy
enough. A major expense was spared when she moved into her apartment
four years ago. The program picked up the tab to fully furnish her
modest one-bedroom flat. Granted, it's not designer dressers and
drawers, but everything in the place is sturdy and none of it looks
like it came from a fire clearance at Sanford & Son's. She also has,
along with her rent, the phone and electricity paid for. So,
exercising a frugal hand with the living expenses that she does have
to take care of, Holmes quite contentedly goes about her day.
Sometimes that means holding down the living-room couch and keeping
the television set company. Sometimes it means enjoying a visit from
her grandchildren. "My worst days at home are better than my best
days were without one."
She was given the apartment as part of social services program that
did outreach at a shelter where she lived. "A worker came and told me
about the program, where they were giving homeless people apartments.
She helped me fill out the application. A month later I had someplace
to live. For which I am very grateful."
She doesn't have opinion on how President Barack Obama is handling the
economy. "I don't really know. I guess he's doing the best he can."
Cecelia Holmes is more concerned about how well she manages her own
situation. And the past four years she hasn't been doing too badly at
all.
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