Homeless man walking from Martinez to Sacramento to raise money for wife's cancer treatment, awareness for disabled homeless
SACRAMENTO -- Every morning, Laurie Tolen ties Jason Means' shoes. The arthritis has prevented him from bending over to do it himself.
"You can hear it when I walk," Means says. "You can hear my bones popping."
But still he walks and walks some more. Moving one foot in front of the other with his walker in his hands.
Means and Tolen aren't chronically homeless. Prior to the pandemic, they were just small business owners living in the Bay Area like so many others.
"It started out as snowcones, and then it became donuts and coffee, and I had a small trailer," he explains. "A small trailer that was set up for that."
When Covid hit, their business effectively shut down and cut off their income. Unable to afford their house, they were evicted and left homeless.
"We lived in our trucks for about a year," he says.
Then came the hammer: Laurie was diagnosed with cancer.
"I figured we gotta have some place where she can be comfortable when she goes to her treatment so I purchased a 1988 Allegra RV," says Means.
But it wasn't as easy as they hoped. The generator in the RV blew and they were continually moved around after the property they parked at went into foreclosure. When Jason's arthritis became extreme, he had trouble finding work.
Even social services weren't as simple as expected. The duo qualified for housing but had to be able to have insurance and registration on their vehicle. Without them, the place that would've provided temporary relief was out of reach.
"Nobody wants to hire a 61-year-old man that can't work, and Laurie she can't work because of her cancer," he says. "It's just a long waiting period. A lot of waiting. And then there's something we don't qualify for."
So Jason decided to do something.
"I told Laurie about it and she thought I lost my mind," says Means. "She said, 'You can't even walk to the bathroom!'"
He started walking. A long walk from the Martinez side of the Benicia Bridge to Sacramento. It's partially to fundraise for Laurie's cancer treatments and a new RV for the two. But now, Jason sees it's bigger than them,
"There's so many out there that want housing and want a better life and the homeless problem is just so huge right now," Means explains.
He hopes to get an audience with Gov. Gavin Newsom or another state official when he reaches the State Capitol. Means says his big concern is the disabled and elderly homeless and their somewhat forgotten status -- even by the standards of the homeless crisis. According to the state's Homeless Data Integration system, the number of people 55 and over that sought homelessness services increased 84 percent between 2017 and 2021.
Now Jason feels he is their champion. In just 12 days, he's walked 41 miles and waits out the extreme heat in Dixon.
"What I use to put around my neck is a sock that I fill up with ice," he says with a laugh. "I put it around my neck and I keep doing that."
According to the American Society on Aging, people ages 65 or older are the fastest age group of people that are homeless and by 2030 the numbers are expected to triple nationwide. Means hopes that he can bring attention to the group and that they want work and a chance to get back on their feet.
"I don't have a problem advocating for them at all," Means says. "There needs to be some kind of change. Some kind of something that gets people off the streets."