Kenneth Belkosky was born in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 17, 1966, moved to Ohio, and returned to the District about eight years ago only to struggle with mental illness and homelessness. After some time, he noticed that he was not getting the help he needed from the District so he decided to find it himself.
“I was fed up that I wasn’t getting the help I needed in the mental health system here in D.C. One person would tell me one thing and then another person was telling me something else,” said Belkosky.
So when the National Alliance on Mental Illness held its annual convention in the District, Belkosky went and got help. The advocates told him to go to Arlington, Va.
“I escaped from the group home and ended up homeless in Arlington for about a couple of months. With the help of Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network (ASPAN) I was able to get supportive housing through a grant that ASPAN gets,” he said.
Now Belkosky is living in his own apartment and getting ready to move to a new place.
Not only does selling Street Sense keep him busy, Belkosky also has two cats, Montey and Cappy, and he has started a street soccer team in Arlington called the Arlington Tigers.
“Street Soccer is part of a program that is called Sports for Change. D.C. has a team and so does Montgomery County,” said Belkosky. “Since I live in Arlington and I know what being home- less is about, I decided to start a team in Arlington with the help of ASPAN. This is going to be our first full year.”
Belkosky came to Street Sense about four years ago through a program called Convoy of Hope.
“I was looking for work in one group home I was at. I had a resume and gave it to the executive director at the time. She liked me so much, she said why don’t I become a vendor, and then the rest is history.”
Belkosky said he likes working for Street Sense because he is getting the word out about the homeless, and the paper can provide a voice for the homeless in the metropolitan region.
“No matter what the circumstances are, anyone can become homeless. Even the President himself. If he for some other reason can’t make his mortgage payments after he leaves the White House, even he can become homeless. So the stereotyping that people put on homeless people is not really accurate,” said Belkosky.
But as for Belkosky, he will fight homelessness.
“I am not letting my mental illnesses get the best of me anymore. I am accomplishing so much thanks to the paper, thanks to the Arlington Department of Human Services and thanks to the Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network or ASPAN.”
