Kimberly Paynter / WHYY
Digital signs around Norristown said it was 43 degrees, but with the wind it felt much colder in the small encampment by the banks of Stony Creek where Dottie and Mark Spillane have been staying.
The couple, both 60, have briefly been homeless before. Then, before the pandemic hit, Mark’s severe health issues cost him his job delivering used cars. With COVID looming, he couldn’t find a new one, and their landlord kicked them out.
“I was in the hospital, I was getting out, and I couldn’t get my rent paid. I couldn’t get back to work. It just was bad timing,” he said, of the pandemic shutting down workplaces.
Digital signs around Norristown said it was 43 degrees, but with the wind it felt much colder in the small encampment by the banks of Stony Creek where Dottie and Mark Spillane have been staying.
The couple, both 60, have briefly been homeless before. Then, before the pandemic hit, Mark’s severe health issues cost him his job delivering used cars. With COVID looming, he couldn’t find a new one, and their landlord kicked them out.
“I was in the hospital, I was getting out, and I couldn’t get my rent paid. I couldn’t get back to work. It just was bad timing,” he said, of the pandemic shutting down workplaces.