Christmas background: a disabled man had to sleep on the ground after bed bug infestation

“I lost everything,” Joseph said. “I had to throw away my mattress, my clothes, the curtains, everything. My whole life is practically sealed in boxes.”

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Joseph likes to say that the Gazette Christmas Fund lifted him, literally.

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Joseph has lived in the same apartment for eight years, and while there have always been little issues here and there with the place, it is his home. As he admits, he rarely leaves his room, so the stability of having a place to stay has been important in his life. But earlier this year, there was a bed bug infestation and he had to throw everything away.

“I lost everything,” Joseph said. “I had to throw away my mattress, my clothes, the curtains, everything. My whole life is practically sealed in boxes. I slept on the floor. “

Some people around you suggested that you leave, but it is not as simple as it seems to find a new home that is close to the things you need.

Due to mental illness, he lives off disability and has relied on the goodness of organizations and his local church. Thanks to the Gazette Christmas Fund, Joseph said he was able to buy a modest mattress. While the mattress only lifts him a foot or so, he said the first night of sleep he felt like he was 10 feet off the ground.

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“It gave me wings,” he said.

Joseph is a music obsessive who listens to everything from Michael Jackson to 2Pac, but he has a special place in his heart for Eminem’s music. As someone who doesn’t leave home for anything other than church and psychiatric care, music is often all she has. There is one Eminem song in particular that has gotten him through this difficult year: Not Afraid.

“Everyone wanted me to leave, but I decided to stay in my room,” he said. “I have been depressed before, but not this time. This time I am defending myself. “

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