As April turned to May, winter finally released its grip, providing Eau Claire’s homeless population with a hint of hope. But they still face many struggles. They still seek food and shelter and jobs. They still seek better lives.

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The winter of 2013-14 didn’t just feel colder than most. It really was. The winter tied 1903-04 as the coldest winter on record in Eau Claire. The average temperature was just 7.5 degrees. Snowfall totaled 75 inches, 2½ feet more than average. The season’s icy grip lasted well into spring.

 

Then came May and with it, warmer temperatures and a sense relief among Eau Claire’s homeless.

 

The frost that coated the inside of Dan Korn’s bus melted, replaced by a few small water leaks. Korn’s snow shovels and snow blower were put away, replaced by the mower he uses for his lawn care business.

 

“To get through this winter, it was no small task,” Korn said, a pinch of snuff protruding like a golf ball from his lower lip as he sipped from a glass of V-8 one morning at Positive Avenues, a drop-in center for people with mental health issues on downtown Eau Claire’s north side. “Finally, it’s starting to warm up.”

 

Dusty Soulier hopes warmer weather is here to stay. After too many nights surviving life-threatening cold on the streets, he’s grateful for days that don’t include snow or ice.

 

Santiago DeMars doesn’t know what his future holds. He hopes to return to school. He hopes to one day counsel people with drug addictions who don’t have a home of their own. For now, he’s looking forward to walking the streets in warmer weather.

 

Annette Johnson and Paul Palmquist hope to be able to rent a home of their own and to find happiness amid their struggles. On March 17 Johnson purposefully took an overdose of medications, knowing she would be hospitalized and removed from Sojourner House. She and Palmquist spent several April nights gambling at the St. Croix Casino in Turtle Lake after an outburst by Johnson led to her being suspended from spending nights at the shelter.

 

Ralph and Rebecca Dash hope for a different place to call home but seem resigned to remaining at Sojourner.

 

Christopher Sperry and Lisa Sundberg hope to stay clean long enough to regain custody of their combined eight children.

 

John Lawton hopes to find a ray of optimism among the storm clouds of his mind.

 

Korn and Don Biddle hope simply to be left in peace. In mid-April Biddle left the relative comfort of Korn’s van to resume his life in a tent, seeking out-of-the-way locations to live.

 

Korn relocated too after the Eau Claire City-County Health Department told him on April 28 he couldn’t live in his bus near Banbury any longer because doing so violated the city’s housing code.

 

Korn sat inside his van Wednesday morning as rain poured down outside, waiting to begin his morning job cleaning the Elbow Room tavern. He had to repair the ramshackle vehicle, which hadn’t been started in more than a year, when the health department told him he had to move on.

 

“The gas lines had lots of leaks,” Korn chuckled, his grease-stained hands evidence of the repairs. Despite his forced relocation, Korn wasn’t bitter. After work he was headed to a Thorp nursing home to play everything from Duke Ellington to Paul McCartney on his keyboard. Never mind that he would only make $30, barely enough to cover gas, for the gig. Never mind that his van might not make the trip. He was happy at the prospect of playing his beloved music.

 

But first there was work to do. Korn bid his visitor farewell, then strode toward the Elbow Room, ready for whatever comes next.