In the name of love, couple chooses to be homeless

 

When is a news story, not a news story? We in the news business struggle with that question often. Just this past week, writer, Teressa Donovan spent a dozen hours putting together a story on two homeless teens from Farwell, only to scrap it at the last minute, because it really wasn’t a story.

Let me back up. We got a call in the office last Friday from a frantic 17-year-old girl who claimed she and her 23-year-old boyfriend were being booted out of their hotel room in Clare, and would be living on the streets if they couldn’t find someone to help them.

In the spirit of Christmas, Teressa interviewed the couple and began to verify what seemed to be a very sad and plausible story. The couple claimed to be disowned by her family and shunned by the Mid-Michigan Community Action agency because of color (the boy is bi-racial).

Teressa spent a great deal of time with the teens in an effort to figure out their story and find shelter for them. On the surface it appeared they indeed had an incredible story- worthy of a bestselling novel.

They shared a one sentence letter from Community Action, showing he had been declined services. When we called the Agency, the executive director was curt, and unwilling to provide much information as to why someone would be declined.

That really fanned the flames. Now we had an agency that was unwilling to talk and seemed somewhat guilty of discrimination. If only they would have answered our questions- we wouldn’t have had to continue to spend time on what became a wild goose chase.

But they didn’t. A call to the girl’s mother, lead to another discussion with the girl’s aunt. Further investigation revealed basically the teens are homeless by choice. The girl could live with her father, but chooses not to. The boy could live with his family in Farwell or the Detroit area, but chooses not to. In the name of love, they refuse to live separately.

Thus our great story about homeless teens trying to get help in Clare County never materialized. In the name of love, the teens voluntarily choose a homeless lifestyle. They aren’t getting help because they don’t need it.

In the spirit of Christmas I wish we could help this couple. However, it appears their story isn’t what we thought it would be. Now on to the next story!