With a truck for a home, Tim Rose finds a way to get by

Tim Rose has a roof over his head. Even when it was the roof of his pickup truck, it was enough to get by.

"It just ended up that way," he said. "I was homeless in Modesto for a while after I was in the Marines. Basically, all through my life I've been homeless."

Until recently Rose, 42, had been living out of the back of his green Mitsubishi Mighty Max pickup truck. He keeps a green landscaping logo from a business he once owned on the truck because "it makes it look more official, and the cops leave me alone."

He's been in Carson City for about two months, putting his truck in a local parking lot each night and listening to his radio before turning off the engine and climbing into the truck's camper.

"I ran out of money and this is where I ended up," he said. "I don't really consider myself homeless. I have a roof over my head. I have a stove. I have some food in the truck. I have enough blankets to keep me warm. I just don't have a place to stay.

"As long as I have a roof over my head, I'm fine. Home is where the heart is."

Rose said he has a learning disability.

"People think I'm a little weird because of the way I talk and act," he said. "I just act all happy. Ever since I was little people said I was weird. I just can't comprehend what you mean sometimes. Subtle hints ... I can't understand them."

Rose said he finds himself caught in a circle where, "I'll do a good job, then there will be complaints, then I quit."

"I don't think of the consequences," he said. "I don't mentally acknowledge what will happen (without a job.)"

After quitting a job once, Rose ended up living in his car in Placerville, Calif., for two winters and three summers.

The same cycle Rose finds himself in every so often brought him to Carson City. He tried to find a job through Manpower, but it didn't work out.

Seeking help through the Carson City Center for Independent Living and the state Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation, Rose now has a job as a janitor. The center helped find him a small studio apartment, which he says he likes much better than sleeping in the truck.

"All I'm sleeping on is a mattress, but I like it," Rose said. "It's a lot warmer. I'm a lot more comfortable because I've got a heater."

Before he moved into his apartment, Rose showered and ate dinner every evening at FISH. He spends a lot of time at the Center for Independent Living, which is dedicated to helping individuals with disabilities.

There he has found support through the center's recreation club and volunteers time to drive a bus for the club. He especially enjoys the recreation club, saying it helps the participants.

The center has been open for two years, and Executive Director Sandy Coyle estimates that the small, nonprofit organization has helped about 60 homeless persons with disabilities off the street.

"They do a pretty good job," Rose said. "If they had any more money, they could probably help more people."

The center is hosting a petition drive to try to get extra funding for the center through the Independent Living Council, and Rose is lobbying for an extra fax machine because the one at the center now is "lousy."

Rose said he feels "pretty good" about his chances of making it in Carson City.

"I feel better about it this time," Rose said. "The job is pretty good. I think Carson City will be a pretty good town. I might stay if I like it. If I want to get away from here, I can go and I'm out in the middle of nowhere. Not everybody lives in every inch of the county. That's what I like about Nevada."

For more information on the Carson City Center for Independent Living, call 841-2580.