THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, April 15, 1996 TAG: 9604130051
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Larry Maddry
LENGTH: Medium: 99 lines
EVER MET A MAN who wanted to trade a broom for a computer?
That's what Bill Statzer wants to do. You'll find him outside the Union Mission on Brooke Avenue in Norfolk each morning about 8, broom in hand.
Statzer lives at the Mission. He earns his keep by cleaning up.
Sweeping mostly.
He sweeps around the building, front and back, and then the parking lot.
``Then I sweep the basement, dust the lobby, and vacuum the rugs in the lobby. Then I sweep from the fifth floor to the mezzanine,'' he explained.
Next, he returns to his 11-by-11-foot room and checks the newspaper's ``help wanted'' ads.
Then he grabs his coat and tie and takes a five-minute walk to the Tidewater Community College Interactive Computer Training Lab in the Selden Arcade.
Statzer, 53, has lived on the charity of the Union Mission since 1992, and is really getting tired of it. He wants a job.
A few days ago I got a phone call from Larry ``Bear'' Baker, a supervisor at the computer lab. Bear has an apt nickname: He's tall, heavyset, with a rough red beard and moustache, and he's a wizard with a computer keyboard.
He suggested I come in and meet one of his star pupils - Bill Statzer. I did.
Amazing how environment changes the way you look at people. I walked over an Oriental rug into the computer lab and found Statzer pecking away at the keyboard. Checked shirt. Nice tie. He swiveled around and looked up when I called his name.
He looked so professional sitting at the computer I had mistaken him for an instructor.
Bear said I should have seen Statzer back in January the first day he opened the door and asked how much it cost to enroll in the basic computer course.
``I told him it took fifty dollars,'' Bear remembered. He said Statzer's jaw dropped. ``I might just as well have said a thousand dollars,'' he said.
A few weeks later Statzer walked in, looking a heckofalot scruffier than Donald Trump at a power lunch.
``He had raised the fifty dollars,'' Bear said. ``I arranged to keep him a couple of booths away from the other students so he wouldn't offend anybody.''
It was slow going at first, but Statzer mastered the first course. ``He worked at it so long, the knowledge was burned into his brain,'' Bear said.
Bear was so impressed with Statzer's progress he recommended that TCC foot the bill for Statzer's second course: ``Windows Basic.''
Statzer spent five hours a day, five days a week at the computer lab. Then he'd return to the Union Mission for more sweeping.
Since March, Statzer has been working on the ``Windows Intermediate'' course, paid for by Calvary Baptist Church in Portsmouth. Statzer is an associate teacher in the church's Sunday school.
Bear has been impressed by Statzer's perseverance and skill. And surprised by his change in wardrobe.
``Last Monday he showed up for the first time with the coat and tie,'' Bear said. ``Nearly everyone here passed out.''
So how did anyone with Statzer's grit and ability wind up in the Union Mission? His house burned down, a business venture went sour, a bad car accident occurred, a girlfriend borrowed his car, someone stole his checkbook, the detective agency where he had been employed went belly up. Stuff like that.
It does happen to people. Now Statzer needs a job. Bear wants him to find one. So far Statzer hasn't had any luck.
Bear believes 5 percent or 10 percent of the homeless and street people in Norfolk, or elsewhere, can make something of themselves if given the chance. ``Just because people have missing teeth or smell bad is a poor reason for not helping them,'' he said.
Bear has had more than 600 students, and this is the first one he's stuck his neck out for.
Word skills aren't Statzer's strong suit. He'd probably never make a salesman. ``Bill Statzer would do a fine job in a small company that needs a computer operator who knows his stuff,'' Bear said. ``Maybe a shipping company.''
If you can help, please phone Bear at 683-8564. E-Mail is: tcccedbear(AT)aol.com ILLUSTRATION: JIM WALKER
The Virginian-Pilot
Union Mission resident Bill Statzer is determined to get back on
track. He's become a computer operator; now, he needs a job.
by CNB