The City of Seattle towed away the trailer he lived in, but now Real Change vendor Isaac Chapiro has a home ("Isaac Chapiro lost his parking space, then lost it all," RC, Dec. 8-14).
On Dec. 30, Chapiro moved into the Compass Center, a transitional housing program in Pioneer Square. He said he now has a private cubicle with a bed and closet, three square meals a day and lots of counseling.
"It's mine," he said of the cubicle. And, "The food is excellent."
He also has a case manager who's working to find him permanent housing. For now, he can stay at the center for up to a year, he said -- as long as he continues to get $266 a month through Disability Lifeline, a program that could be cut due to the state's $4.6 billion budget shortfall. His rent at Compass Center is $190, he said.
Chapiro slept on the streets of Ballard for a year and ended up in the hospital in November with a blood infection. Parking enforcement took his truck and trailer in late 2009 after he moved out of a church parking space arranged for him by Ballard Homes for All, a group that's trying to start a safe parking program for car campers.