Homelessness, Diabetes Retains Oakland Handyman From Returning to Kenya

It was time for Stanley, an oakRural craftsman, to return to his family in Kenya after 20 years. But there didn’t seem to be a way to save enough money for a plane ticket home while he was paying rent. So in July he gave up his place to take shelter in another, cheaper building.

But that protection fell through, and the 64-year-old has been on the streets ever since, spending his days in career centers and nights sleeping with BART. By carefully planning bus and train times, he was able to avoid sleeping on the street. With finagling credit from T-Mobile, he managed to keep his phone connected.

“It’s a mental thing to survive,” says Stanley, who asks that his last name not be published. “You have to use your brain.”

After Anna Geiduschek – a tenant of a building that Stanley used to do maintenance work on – and former friend Joe Rivano Barros became aware of his situation, they set up GoFundMe to get him a plane ticket to Kenya and promised to raise $ 800 between the two.

It attracted a lot of attention after Barros tweeted the GoFundMe link. Donors now aware of Stanley’s situation have raised more than $ 1,000. In order not to have to spend everything to survive here, Stanley – who came to Oakland in 1998 – lets Barros withhold the money to save it for life in Kenya.

But worsening medical conditions keep him here. Having diabetic neuropathy means that high blood sugar causes nerve damage throughout the body, but mostly in the legs and feet. Stanley decided a year ago to work as a handyman to prevent further long-term disabilities.

“Ultimately, we got him to realize that he was sick and needed a place to sleep,” says Geiduschek. “It’s all a wash when he’s too sick.”

Little rest and poor nutrition sent Stanley to the emergency services with dangerously high blood sugar. He says his doctor at the Tri-City Health Center in Fremont – which has a program for the homeless – wants him to stay there until medication stabilizes diabetic neuropathy. But the longer he’s on the street, the harder it gets.

“When you are hungry, you have no choice,” says Stanley, pointing to the fact that it is difficult to find healthy food when looking for your next meal.

Geiduschek and Rivano Barros have tried to help in other ways, using Stanley’s Geiduschek address for identification in California, research documents needed to get to Kenya, and a contact point for homeless services. Despite having access to the Internet, Stanley struggled to find his way around where to go or who to talk to.

“It is difficult to find services,” says Rivano Barros. “It’s not at all intuitive.”

Rivano Barros says his instincts as a former Mission Local journalist were used and he called as many people as possible for help. Stanley is now on a waiting list for shelters of over 1,000 people.

Stanley hasn’t told many people about his situation, including his grown-up children in Kenya. He doesn’t want his family to worry, nor does he want to hang out with someone he knows until he has a week to avoid ruining the relationship.

“It’s painful – you get lonely,” he says. “I don’t even know how to get back to a normal life.”

Stanley hopes to leave the country in March or April, but he’s battling cold and rain this winter. He has tried looking for odd jobs on Craigslist, but is having a hard time explaining his situation to potential employers.

Outwardly, he looks like any other resident of the Bay Area who walks from place to place with a backpack and coat. But he sees how other people look at people with more severe illnesses.

“They think the homeless are criminals,” says Stanley. “Most of them – they won’t do anything.”

First, Geiduschek says she feels like there isn’t much she can do as the Bay Area struggles to tame rising homelessness – a 2017 census found at least 7,499 residents on the streets of San Francisco alone. But even just 50 dollars can change Stanley’s week or month.

“A little help really helps a lot,” says Geiduschek. “There are actually a lot of people who are quietly homeless, and you don’t really notice that.”

Ida Mojadad is a writer for SF Weekly.
imojadad@sfweekly.com | @idamoj

For Stanley’s online fundraiser, visit gofundme.com/stanley-kenya-fund.