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Helena man shares homeless struggles after fire burned down home

For many who find themselves facing homelessness, all it took was one unforeseen disaster.
Posted at 4:15 PM, Jan 06, 2022
and last updated 2022-01-06 20:55:13-05

HELENA — According to the Pont in Time Survey from January 2020, the state estimated that 1,545 people were homeless on any given day. For many who find themselves facing homelessness, all it took was one unforeseen disaster.

Isaac Nevermissashot has been living in Helena at various hotel rooms after he lost his home to a fire.

"All it takes is one hour or one minute for everything to go south pretty quickly. And, then you gotta try and build everything back up with the next check," he explained.

Nevermissashot says his life came crumbling down when his parents RV caught fire.

"I woke up because I saw a bunch of flames outside, so that woke me up, and I went outside, and I just heard my parents screaming, and I did not know if they were inside the RV or not. So, I was on crutches from my wreck already, so I tried to get to the RV as quickly as I could."

Not only did the family lose their home, but transportation too.

"Everything burnt down, even our GMC envoy and a Firebird that we had," he added.

Facing homlessness

Before his parent's house caught on fire, Nevermissashot was in a bad car crash which left him walking on a crutch.

Each day is now about surviving, trying to find a roof over their head is a challenge.

"Like, when I am up usually, the first thing, I think about, is what you are not supposed to be thinking about where I am going to sleep tonight, but that is usually the first thing on our minds," he explained.

Aside from his injury when it comes to finding work, he says he has other challenges.

"There is a lot I don't qualify for, plus I don't think I am that hirable with all my tattoos and all that. So I am mostly working in the back," he said.

The family does receive some assistance from the Helena Indiana Alliance, Salvation Army, and Good Samaritan from food to hotel vouchers.

"A lot of comforts actually comes from getting a room and knowing I have a place to stay that night," said Nevermissashot.

Facing homelessness

The Helena Food Share is also a good outlet for resources for food insecurity.

Helena Good Samaritan and its street outreach program have 20 hotel room vouchers for people who need a roof over their heads.