The past couple of years haven’t exactly been easy for Tracy Walker and his mother, Suzette Solis. Walker has had to go through some 15 surgeries on his feet, a total of 34 over the past decade, all a result of complications from Type 2 diabetes.
Then, in September, they both came down with coronavirus — so did Walker’s great-aunt Carol, who lived with them. Walker felt better after about a week and a half; his mom was hospitalized for two weeks and has only just returned to work; his great-aunt died.
“That was pretty rough because she actually — it was me, Carol and my mom,” Walker says. He used to spend his days taking care of Carol while his mom was at work. “I was with her all the time.”
“We were basically living out of a storage unit.”
Through it all, though, Walker says he knew, at the very least, that they had a place of their own to call home. That wasn’t the case two years ago, after Walker, 43, and Solis, 62, found themselves homeless, spending their nights at the homes of various family members, all of their possessions locked up in storage.
“We were basically living out of a storage unit,” Walker says.
When The Chronicle first wrote about Walker in December 2019, he and his mother had finally moved into their own apartment in Walnut Creek, in part thanks to assistance with the rental deposit from the Chronicle Season of Sharing Fund. The fund works throughout the year to prevent homelessness and hunger in the Bay Area’s nine counties. All donations directly help people in need, with administrative costs covered by The Chronicle and the Walter and Evelyn Haas Jr. Fund.
“It’s nice to have your own place,” Walker says. “Being able to do what you want, come and go when you want, not have to worry about stepping on toes.”
Two years later, despite all the additional hardship, Walker, who speaks softly and loves sports metaphors, remains positive. The apartment is close to grocery stores, a movie theater, clothing outlets and more. And out back is a big green park where Walker’s dog BJ can run and play.
“It’s been really good — we’ve enjoyed the area,” Solis says.
Having a place of their own has also meant being able to pay it forward. Recently, Walker’s cousin moved to the Bay Area from Colorado and needed a place to land while he got himself situated. Solis and Walker opened their home to him.
Walker found Season of Sharing through Independent Living Resources, a Bay Area-based nonprofit focused on helping people with disabilities. At the time, Walker was reeling from multiple foot surgeries and the loss of all of his toes. He was learning how to walk again and wasn’t able to work.
“Recently, Walker’s cousin moved to the Bay Area from Colorado and needed a place to land while he got himself situated. Solis and Walker opened their home to him.”
Claude Battaglia, an independent living specialist with the organization, says many of the clients they work with are struggling to find housing in the Bay Area’s expensive rental market.
“It’s essential because the majority of (the clients) are on a fixed income, and they’re on Section 8,” he said. “They don’t have the resources or the means to save money for these outlandish deposits.”
Walker still has a while to go for his recovery. He’s on bed rest for most of the day, a rough reality for a guy who used to play football and likes to stay active. Still, he’s managed to avoid any bone infections in his feet for the past year.
Hopefully, Walker says, by next year he’ll be able to move around better, walk to the grocery store or to the movie theater to see the latest Marvel movie. He really misses church, too, he says.
“It’s one thing to watch on your phone or whatever, but it’s another thing to actually be there, that presence of being there,” he says. “If you see a concert on TV — OK, well, that was cool. That was nice. But when you’re actually there, you feel that.”
Reach Ryan Kost: rkost@sfchronicle.com; X: @RyanKost
At Season of Sharing Fund, we believe that an unexpected financial crisis should never mean losing your home. Preventing homelessness isn’t just kind—it’s also the most effective way to keep our communities thriving. 100% of your donation keeps Bay Area residents housed, cared for and nourished.
