looking-for-a-way-home: Because they have two children and another on the way, Michele and Charlie Silvey try to get off the streets and into a motel as often as they can. “Before we were homeless,” Michele says, “we had this nice little trailer on a piece of land, pictures everywhere, dishes, clean ... It wasn’t beautiful but it was our home. We didn’t have to worry about where we were going to sleep.” Charlie recently lost another job at Jiffy Lube after he burned himself and lost his temper, so the couple took to panhandling in downtown Columbia, usually late when the bars are busy. On a good night, they can collect $100 or more, but because they pay up front for as many nights in the motel as they can, the money goes quickly. “Michele and I met 14 years ago when she was getting off a Greyhound bus, and we’ve been together off and on ever since,” Charlie says. “She’s stood by my side since day one. I’ve done her wrong so many times but she’s still there for me.”
