Maybe all the good ideas were already taken, but a few young designers in Los Angeles decided a homeless man named John Wesley Jermyn would make a great brand for their latest line.
The designers say that Jermyn, who occupies a street in a trendy shopping district (and was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in 1969), signed a contract allowing them to use his name and likeness on clothing and in slogans. The contract entitles him to 5 percent of earnings, but he often wishes to be paid in food, liquor or supplies.
His sister says the designers are exploiting her brother, who has schizophrenia and other personal demons. “I don’t want to see my brother get hurt,†she said to the Wall Street Journal. “They’re taking advantage of someone who is very vulnerable and very trusting.â€
As the designers continue to sell the $98 hoodies with his face on the back, Jermyn continues to live on the streets.
Posted by Kristin Mehler
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21 Comments
I think I’d be more thrilled that someone had found a way for a homeless, sick man to make money by doing pretty much nothing. This could be our next big way to really help our community. You know they could put it into a trust and earn interest, and this guy could be a millionaire before too long.
Sounds like they’re actually paying him what they’re contracted to. Unless he’s been deemed unfit to make decisions for himself, this guy can do anything he wants to do.
Exploitation has been used for income for a long time. From the Elephant man in the circus to …well I don’t know I’m too tired to finish the thought lol.
If his sister really cared about him, why is he homeless? If he is mentally ill, she should be leading the charge to get him treatment for it. She says “I don’t want to see him get hurt” yet she allows him to live on the streets. I don’t get it!
“…yet she allows him to live on the streets.”
Could be she already has tried to help and he (in his mental illness) chooses to be where he is –
Wrong to chastise her for his choices ..
No one can force someone who is mentally ill to get treatment unless they are a threat to others or to themselves…it’s not against the law to be crazy.I think the way they’re exploiting him is shameless…he can’t be deemed rational enough to let them use his image so they can turn him into a freakshow in order to make money.
Kev, those who live on the streets are there because they want to be…there is plenty of help for those who want it. The problem is that mentally ill people who are out of control don’t know what’s best for them and will fight against it. The addicts choose to stay on the streets because to go to a shelter means they’d have to give up the drugs and alcohol and get with the program. We have to deal with the underlying causes of why people are homeless in the first place if we want to solve the problems…bandaid solutions don’t work, they only enable the homeless to survive on the streets so they can continue their self destructive behaviors.
“”"No one can force someone who is mentally ill to get treatment unless they are a threat to others or to themselves…it’s not against the law to be crazy.”"”
He is a threat. He is a threat to others because he is menatlly ill and mental illness can and does cause people to become delusional and violent. Let’s say he is walking along side an expressway- let’s say 235 and he all the sudden sees big pink elephants chasing him and runs onto the roadway. Let’s say your daughter, to avoid hitting him, rolls her SUV killing herself and your grandchildren. Would you say he is not a “danger to others”? For the same reasons he is also a danger to himself. He is an unmedicated psychotic and could end up dead or hurt easily. Just living on the streets is a “danger to self” because you can freeze to death or fall victim to any number of things. Let’s say that he goes into an abandoned building to keep warm and starts a fire. Is he a danger to himself or others? I would argue yes and 6 dead firefighters in Worchester Mass would argue yes too because they were killed in a fire “started by the homeless to keep warm” in an empty building.
“”"I think the way they’re exploiting him is shameless…he can’t be deemed rational enough to let them use his image so they can turn him into a freakshow in order to make money.”"”
On that we do agree. And any attorney that even stayed half awake in law school could easily invalidate that contract and sue the hell out of them because he obviously lacks the mental capacity to enter into a contract.
I agree if his sister is so concerned why his he homeless?
I think some of the homeless are more honest about self destructive behavior then those that are not homeless, hard working, actively involved in their community, everyday normalize people.People are day in and day out putting on false faces, working so hard achieving to what ends?Dead in a box, six feet below ground with no more then what they were borne with.I might be cynical but we are by far not deserving of the word “Human”.Read into the article in between the lines, the guy does not want money but he can rationalize enough to say what he wants.Food, liquor and supplies do not sound like the ranting of a madman.And the sister’s statement of her brother’s mental state could be just her hearsay.When we label someone, we have the tendencies to label them by the reflection of ourselves.Do the math on his share of the earnings; I would say with all that money and his carefree lifestyle that he is doing better and luckier then most.
>>those who live on the streets are there because they want to be…<<
Once again, I have to call BS on that! There are a few…. very few. Who does anyone know in their right mind that would CHOOSE to sleep under a bridge in a Kansas winter. Most, given the opportunity to improve their conditions are more than willing. I know at least 3 pregnant women sleeping on the streets right now. They CAN be helped.. and we can free them from the issues that drag them down. We just need to DO something instead of talking about it all the time!
Sorry Sam, I disagree…there are places for homeless people to go..especially pregnant women. The only reason people sleep under the bridge is because they don’t want to abide by the rules laid down by the shelters.Kev…the only way to LEGALLY force someone to get treatment is when they actaully make a threat or attempt to hurt themsleves or someone else. If they deny those feelings, no one can force them to get help..that’s what I’ve been yelling about for years..that families can’t force sick people to get help when they need it.Sam…how do you intend to “free them from the issues that drag them down”? Are you going to become a one man treatment center that the “down and out” will flock to once they know you’re available?I live and work in the real world, my hands are as tied as your’s and nothing’s going to change anytime soon.I see the problems all the time..and I’m losing hope that anything realistic can be done. I feel really frustrated by it all.
they don’t want to abide by the rules laid down by the shelters.
RULES? For sheltering a fellow human being?
I personally do not CARE why someone is cold or out in the rain. Who am I to judge?
“Rules” is a alot of what is wrong with this country.
They don’t want the shelters to turn into nothing but flop houses. My point is that if a person wants help, they can get it, it may not be on their terms, but it is available. It’s their choice if they’re sleeping under the bridge…and it’s mental illness or the power of addiction that makes that choice seem reasonable to them.
Mary,
I am not one man.. I am nothing, everything I do is in the power and the name of Jesus Christ. You have lost hope because you do not have God. We will, and we are helping people.. the same people you say are beyond help.
Yes, they do come to me, because we offer more than handouts and condemnation. They receive love and hope, and in return they trust us to help them.
Rules for sheltering another human being? If a homeless shelter does not have rules, and lots of them, the entire shelter would quickly degenerate into a no-holds barred fighting match. In a homeless shelter without rules, and plenty of them, there will be lots of victims.
I was homeless on and off for over 10 years due to mental illness. I know the people who live on the streets and sleep in the shelters, and even a few who just live and sleep on the streets; they can be a bit of a rough crowd if not handled with the love of Christ.
“You have lost hope because you do not have God. We will, and we are helping people.. the same people you say are beyond help.”
No, I have not “lost God”, nor do I believe that people are “beyond hope”, there is always hope, Sam…but I live in the real world and I know the reality of trying to change the attitudes of people who are bent on a distructive lifestyle. You may help a few, but I doubt your ministry has that many successes. The problem is only getting worse, not better.I wonder just how personally involved you become in the day to day lives of those you try to help…I don’t think you’d still be wearing those rose colored glasses if you did.I hope I’m wrong…I’d love to think that all you have to do is offer someone the love of Jesus and an opportunity in order to raise them out of the gutter, it would be nice if things were that easy, but I’ve been in the business too long to be so optimistic.
“We can’t do great things, just small things with great love”…that’s the only rationale that keeps me out there, the knowledge that I can maybe make a small difference in someone’s life.
tc..I hope you’re doing OK now, obviously you were able to reach out and get the help you need to stay off the streets.
Mary … actually I’m doing 100 times better due to ComCare of Sedwick County. They scooped me up out of the gutter when I finally chose to ask for help (remember, I was homeless for 10 years prior to that) and as luck would have it, the Section 8 program once again opened it’s doors after four or five years of absence. I receive psychiatric care on a regular basis and the medications tend to help a bit. But it takes a long time (2-5 years) to get medication types and dosages correct. I guess what I’m really saying is, yes, there are government programs installed to help the homeless situation, but you basically have to be lucky, meaning in the right place at the right time, in order to receive any measurable benefit.
Oh I forgot to add just one last thing — nearly all of the help in Wichita that I’ve received (and believe me, I received lots of help) have been through entities (churches, charity, etc) that receive little or no government money to do what they do. This is the kind of help the homeless people need to keep living day to day. Wichita is a generous community and without their generosity, me and lots of other people I know, would have been dead a long time ago without their daily, coordinated efforts and caring attitude. People like them take care of people like me, and I thank God for that.
Good to hear tc and stay warm, it’s getting chilly tonight. :)
TC–
Blow it out your @ss, lying sack of sh*t.