One might not expect to hear recitations of Shakespeare in the lobby of Porchlight’s single room occupancy housing, but Mike Shepherd would catch skeptics off guard.
It has been well over 30 years since Shepherd played Sampson in his high school’s production of Romeo and Juliet, but he still nails the line.
“On my word we shall not carry coal,” Shepherd professes. “I mean, an we be in choler, we will draw.”
Though he recites Shakespearian verses from a wheelchair, Shepherd’s vocal authority and expressive hand gestures create a delivery worthy of the grand stage.
A dormant staph bacteria in Shepherd’s spine bound him to a wheelchair five years ago and also claimed much of his motor ability.
Shepherd’s disability forced him to prematurely stop working as a janitor in many UW-Madison campus buildings.
However, he maintains a positive attitude about his state of affairs.
“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” Shepherd laughed.
Shepherd now lives at the Brooks Street Single Room Occupancy, tucked just behind Xo1 off University Avenue, with assistance from Porchlight, a corporation that provides affordable housing and services to homeless individuals and families throughout Madison.
Of the current 100 residents, there are only five without a mental or cognitive disability, according to Shepherd.
In addition to living in the SRO, Shepherd now collects food stamps, social security disability income and unemployment benefits.
When Shepherd first applied for housing in 1984, he said he was only on the waitlist for approximately two weeks.
As interviews with past Capitol Profile subjects have revealed, those currently on the waitlist could remain there there for as long as three years.
“Madison’s homeless problem has become so vast,” Shepherd said.
He expressed overall contentment with his living situation and described the SRO much like a dorm. There is a kitchen on each floor as well as shared bathrooms and showers.
Despite similarities to some student housing options, there is a visible juxtaposition between the luxurious Xo1 apartments and the Porchlight SRO situated in its shadow.
When asked about this contrast, Shepherd did not appear bitter but merely expressed his gratitude for a place to live at all.
“I like the students,” Shepherd said. “I find that I’m friendly to the students, so they are friendly to me.”
Shepherd said he has considered leaving the SRO to live with one of his younger three siblings in other parts of the state, but he is reluctant to leave Madison because of how conducive the city is to living with a disability.
“Here the bus service has a ramp where you can take a wheelchair onto it and the bus driver will strap you in,” Shepherd said. “But if I move back to Platteville, everything is on the outskirts, there is no downtown.”
Therefore, Shepherd said he cannot see himself leaving Madison, or the SRO, anytime in the near future.
He continues to spend his days absorbing the lessons of the History Channel and completing crossword puzzles.
