Jobless, facing eviction, a Detroiter checks out

[firedupdem]

http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090216/OPINION03/902160357

In his despairing leap from his downtown 16th-floor apartment window two weeks ago, Timothy H. Regan, who once worked in finance and human resources for General Motors, ended his life in the shadow of the Renaissance Center.

When a 36th District Court officer opened the apartment door to evict the former clerk on that frigid Jan. 29 morning, he found the living room occupied only by an empty reclining chair and an open window.

The court officer, Cieve Turner, didn't wonder about the window, which had been laboriously unscrewed. He and three other employees closed it, then cleared out the clothing from a walk-in closet in the $956-a-month apartment. As they left the building, they heard sirens.

snip

Tim Regan was a middle-aged man -- a generous, sweet-faced, well-liked man -- who had no fallback plan when he was terminated by GM in April 2006, and who had too much pride and too few supports to reach for help in the years that followed.


snip

But Tim Regan's physical disability -- the odd gait and weakened legs he was born with -- made it difficult for him to get around. A premature baby, he had a mild case of cerebral palsy. That condition had made his work in the RenCen so ideal: He could walk through an elevated tunnel directly from apartment to office, or whip around downtown on the People Mover.

"He didn't really have it in him to go out and look for a job. That just wasn't Tim," said Tia Welser, his sister.

Friends say he was less than two years from qualifying for retirement when he left, at a time when forcing out white-collar workers was still unusual at the Big 3 auto companies. In his human resources job, Regan processed the paperwork of employees being laid off. Then he was one of them.

[aquart]

1. It sucks.

The suicides are beginning to pile up.

[firedupdem]

3. So horrible.....I had to move because of this mess but I have

so many friends left behind that are having a really hard time. Getting rid of someone right before retirement saved them how much money? Sucks.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. What a dreadful waste of a life!

I hope he found peace.

My condolences to his family and all who knew and loved him...

:cry:

[firedupdem]

4. So sad....this got to me....

:cry:

[Urban Prairie]

5. OMG!!

I met Tim in the late 80s when I briefly worked at the GM Tech Center as a contract employee. RIP, dude....

:(

[firedupdem]

6. Late 80's.. Wow...

His picture is at the link, I couldn't get it on the post for some reason. I hate that it sounds as if he wasn't given full retirement benefits. I hate the way people get screwed. Disabled and let go just before retirement! :grr:

[Urban Prairie]

8. Couldn't he have applied for assistance?

Apply for SSI or something? I have to think his condition worsened as he aged, I remember his gimpy legs and rocking gait.

[LisaL]

9. Applying for disability isn't all that easy.

The process might take a long time. And of course just because someone applies doesn't mean he or she will get it.

[Urban Prairie]

13. I am now disabled

And was approved by SS and my employer without any trouble the first time I applied, but my job involved physical work.

[MADem]

14. How SAD. He had such a cheerful countenance, too.

[Maru Kitteh]

7. In a whole lot of disturbing - this part is REALLY disturbing.........

"The court officer, Cieve Turner, didn't wonder about the window, which had been laboriously unscrewed. He and three other employees closed it, then cleared out the clothing from a walk-in closet in the $956-a-month apartment. As they left the building, they heard sirens.

"Why did he have to put that on my conscience?" Turner wondered later."


FIRST: You don't even bother to look or wonder about the window, you just start taking the dead gentleman's stuff? WTF? His apartment is now an investigation scene. BACK THE FUCK OFF AND call the police or at least just stand outside and look like the blood-sucking vampire you are.

SECOND: You HEARTLESS, SCUM-SUCKING, self-absorbed SHIT-STAIN on the shorts of humanity - this poor guy just endured pain so deep he could no longer bear to live but - hey - how DARE he do this to YOU! RIGHT?

:argh:

[Urban Prairie]

12. "Why did he have to put that on my conscience?

What?

Just dump him and his belongings on the street??


I suppose that wouldn't have bothered his dreams, but it would mine, I could NEVER do that to another human being who had unfortunate reason for his financial troubles. He must have used up all of his savings over the years to stay in that apartment. No severance?? GM pays fairly well, and he had decades of employment with them, certainly enough to purchase his own residence or condo. I was paid 8 bucks a hour there for doing work that used to pay probably triple that amount (with bennies), which is why I got out ASAP.

[firedupdem]

17. One speech Obama gave during the campaign that hit home for

me was about a job giving people a feeling of self worth. I am unemployed and I understand that. It's not just about the paycheck. Luckily, my husband works and we're not destitute but I do feel somehow "less" because I'm not working right now. This man was not only unemployed, he was disabled and lonely. He lost all hope.

I lost my sister the same way, I don't know why these stories seem to jump out at me.

[GI_Dunno]

10. Bush lingers

Its a shame they couldnt see what new beginning we have.

Noone will be making profits soon enough, and no one will suffer!!!

[RandySF]

11. "Why did he have to put that on my conscience?"

WTF??

"The court officer, Cieve Turner, didn't wonder about the window, which had been laboriously unscrewed. He and three other employees closed it, then cleared out the clothing from a walk-in closet in the $956-a-month apartment. As they left the building, they heard sirens."

[UpInArms]

15. ...

The gentle little man who walked awkwardly and endeared himself to others with kindness and a crooked grin stayed in character until the very end. He was OK. He was fine. He was perfectly happy.

Only the scream of his death gave him away.

:cry:

[TBF]

16. Another tragedy in Detroit. When will this end? n/t