MATT
NICKELSVILLE INTERVIEWS
by Tom Hastings � 2008
Matt is 26 years old, white, clean-shaven, and has been working as a waiter at a fancy restaurant for a year. Keeping employees part-time at 20 hours or less allows employers to deny all health insurance, benefits, sick and vacation pay, even holiday pay.
MATT
I�m from Philadelphia�. I lived in Redding, California for two years and a half years�. I work at one of those nice oyster-house restaurants along the tourist piers by the aquarium about 20 hours per week. Been working all year but I still cannot afford to live indoors�.
I have a high school GED and been a waiter for eight years. When I first came to Seattle I stayed in Tent City until a few weeks ago when I moved to Nickelsville. I can�t stay in indoor shelters downtown because my restaurant job keeps me past 10PM but those shelters want everyone to sign in by 9PM�. Nickelsville is much better because there is no curfew and I can leave all my stuff in my tent. There are no storage lockers but I feel totally safe leaving my stuff here when I go to work. Everyone looks out for one another here�. In Washington you need to show so much ID and verification and place of residence and mailing address just to get a new ID�. I finally did get a WA State ID card in December 2008. It took almost a year.
Another reason it is so hard for me: I have an 8-year-old daughter named Michelle. I pay child support, $150 every two weeks garnished out of my check by the state of Pennsylvania, so I wind up with only a $20 or $30 check, along with $20 or $30 in tips. I�ve been paying child support for seven years now, since I was 19�.
I work about 20 hours per week and make $8 per hour. I get maybe $20-30 in tips. So I still cannot afford to sleep indoors! Sure I HATE living in a tent! It�s getting really cold now, especially when your clothes get wet! I would LOVE to live indoors! IF WE WERE GIVEN A CHOICE TO LIVE IN A ROOM IN A GROUP HOUSE, WE ALL WOULD CHOOSE THE GROUP HOUSE!
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