A story that changed one homeless man's life
Richard is tossing bags of shrimp into the frozen seafood counter at the West Dundee Jewel food store in the workmanlike manner of a guy who is on a mission.
He is. The mission is simple enough but weighted with the heaviness of the thousands of souls who, for whatever reason, can't seem to get their act together the way Richard has.
"I'm not having a Christmas this year," Richard stated, flipping another bag in the deep freeze. "I'm giving all of my presents to the homeless."
He is working two jobs now, the one at Jewel and another one as a security guard, and has a wife, Joyce, and a home. It wasn't always that way. Ten years ago, Richard Faykosh was living in his pickup truck with his dog, out of work and out of cash, living hand-to-mouth and day-to-day as an itinerant worker without a home. Never able to string enough money together for a security deposit and first month's rent, Richard slept in his truck, ate in his truck, and probably would have died in his truck, just another homeless guy, out of food, money and luck.
But he was saved. Or, rather, he saved himself.
Homeless for two years after wandering the country, holding various jobs, playing drums in a band, Faykosh found himself down and out in Elgin, a fate not worse than death, a fate not worse than semiconsciousness even, but nonetheless a fate not particularly warm and fuzzy.
One day he marched into this newspaper office, which sometimes is the final resort of people strung out on desperation. Newspapers in general, that is. Luckily, he is a peaceful man and had no firearms or other weapons. But he wanted to know what was being done about the homeless in Elgin. He became the topic of a newspaper column, the kind that tries to make people sit up and take notice. It was not a very good column, but it changed at least one person — Richard. He was the one who sat up and took notice.
"The story changed me. That's what started it," said Richard. He plopped bags of shrimp into the freezer. Customers walked by. Richard wore a white butcher's work uniform and the face of a determined man.
Sometimes seeing your name in print and what your life has boiled down to is like a good slap in the face. Some people take it as insult and injury. Others take it as a wake-up call. Living in an old, beat-up truck with a large dog is not exactly the worker's paradise it is cracked up to be. Suddenly, Richard seemed to change gears.
He became acquainted with Jack Wentland, who was running a program at Elgin Community College to help educate homeless people so they could get jobs and homes. Richard became involved at St. Joseph Catholic Church where he became coordinator of the church's role in Public Action to Deliver Shelter, the organization that provides shelter and food for homeless people. Richard had done work like that before, for the San Francisco Free Church in the 1960s, when he was part of the Hippie movement.
Things change. Things change a lot. Richard finally got enough money together for an apartment. He met Joyce. He worked several jobs, including a security position at Spring Hill Mall. An intelligent man, he began his own newsletter to support the cause of the homeless. Called Trinity News, he mails it out and circulates it to those who might help, who need help and even to those who don't want to help.
And, of course, he put it on the World Wide Web TRINITY NEWS(or) Hands To Help The Homeless
Now 51, Richard also has taken up the cause of TMJ — temporalmandibular joint dysfunction, an affliction which Joyce has. This accounts for the talking skull on his and Joyce's personal Web page that features pictures of their home and other information.
He created the Web site because he wants the world to know he has come a long way from living in a truck down by the river in Elgin.
"I did it myself," said Richard, as a co-worker hailed him for assistance. "I've still got a security job. I'm still working for the homeless. They need Christmas presents more than I do." George Houde can be reached at (847) 888-7775 or e-mail
12/28/00 TODAY
