Jake Ashford is originally from Lumberton, N.C. In 1980, he joined the military to travel the world in search of new adventures. He was stationed in Mainz, Germany from 1981 to 1987. After his service in the military, he remained in Germany where he worked for the federal government and raised a family. He worked in a warehouse in the morning and as a waiter at night until he got a job with Lockheed Martin in 1991. He worked with other contractors, including Halliburton, until he returned to the U.S. in Jan. 2001. He has been homeless for three years.
How did you become homeless?
I was working in the VA Hospital as a dining room assistant and lost my job after running into problems with the law.
What is the hardest thing for you about being homeless?
The cold nights. You can’t get to sleep in the middle of the night when you are on the street and the ambulances go by. Also, the police target the homeless, particularly when they have a quota to fill at the end of the month. Additionally, the staff at some of the shelters talk down to you and try to provoke you. As far as getting in there and staying in a shelter, I can’t do that.
