A few bad breaks lead to homelessness and man living in his truck

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - A man living in the Capital City says he’s fallen on hard times and now finds himself among the homeless. The Jackson transplant describes it as a humbling experience he never anticipated, living in his vehicle while struggling to survive.

“It’s about changing peoples’ views on the homeless,” said Charles Peterson.

The 36-year-old has been living in his truck for about two months after being evicted. The Hattiesburg native said he was a mobile mechanic until a compressor and other tools were stolen from his truck. He never thought he’d find himself among the homeless population.

“That was my livelihood. That was my way of making a living, and I wasn’t able to do it anymore,” said Peterson. “So it put me in a bind that I couldn’t pay for anything. So I live out of my truck.”

Peterson admits he was previously incarcerated and suffers from severe ADHD and social anxiety. Conditions he said are worsened by not having a place to live.

“I would go from parking lot to parking lot because I didn’t want to make the business or anywhere I was feel uncomfortable,” said Peterson.

“God just led me on to give him what you have,” said Terry Tyce. He has seen Peterson and felt compelled to help him. Tyce wants more resources for the homeless.

“He’s good people, and we like to look out for folks like that, and some people just don’t know these homeless folks need help, and they need shelter bad,” said Tyce.

Peterson contacted Stewpot and Ramp and is now on a waiting list for assistance. But tonight he’ll be looking for a safe place to park and hope people have different opinions about the homeless.

“Nobody wants to see the homeless people,” added Peterson. “Everybody’s got something negative to say about a homeless person. sometimes and just that stuff like that hurts.”

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