New home, but back to panhandling

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Danny Silver, 48, and Maggie Post , 50, knew May 6, 2010 was a life-changing moment. The couple said goodbye to the place they called home - their tent in North Austin - and moved into a mobile home near the airport.

"Thank you all very much for your support everybody," said Danny to a crowd of supporters on that day.

The gift that wiped away their homeless status was the result of a billboard campaign Mobile Loaves & Fishes launched called 'I Am Here.' Drivers were asked to text in $10 donations to buy Danny a new home and get him off the streets.

He was and still is the face of the campaign that continues to bring donations into the outreach ministry. And he represents the cyclical struggles that homeless often face. Sometimes, they say, it's not simply a question of having a roof over their heads.

Just over a month after Danny and Maggie moved into their home, they sat behind the Shell gas station near the corner of Braker and I-35. The two described a world that has changed, but not for the better. They've resorted to panhandling to survive - something they say they're not proud of, but that is necessary right now.

"It's more complicated," said Danny, as he sat under a shade tree to get a break from the heat that he and Maggie have been panhandling in all day. The sun blisters bubbled up on Maggie's left arm.

"Danny was up at 4 a.m., and I was up at 4:30 a.m. We got here about 7 (a.m.), and we have been here since," said Maggie. "I got $3, and a bag of Chex Mix."

The donations were better before the home.

"I guess now they see us as having a home, and think, 'What the heck they doing out here now?"' said Maggie.

Danny added, "I mean the house is great, I ain't gonna lie. The bills ain't."

Maggie, who had a stroke and is in a wheelchair, said her disability check covers all but $40 of the rent. But then there is electric, water, trash and groceries to pay for.

They had to beg just to buy a bus ticket to get here. Danny said he has been looking for work as a welder, but is hesitant to leave Maggie alone for long periods of time.

They would be lying if they did not admit there have been times they wanted to give up and go back to their tent.

"I love our house, appreciate what they did. Just gotta try to make it work," said Maggie.

For now they will continue taking it day by day. The $3 will cover a bus ride home so they can start over tomorrow.

Mobile Loaves & Fishes did not return phone calls Tuesday. In a blog post titled 'What if Danny and Maggie Don't Make It?' written shortly after the group donated the home, President Alan Graham acknowledged the struggles that come with moving from the streets to a home. He said it is not a permanent fix, but says more than 85 percent of the homeless MLF have housed have stayed longer than one year.