When Cancer Strikes the Homeless

It was the summer of 2015 when Joppa first met James “Nick” Nicodemus, who was living in a tent in the woods. Trouble, struggles and pain had plowed deep furrows in his weathered face.

A lanky man, “pushing 60,” Nick was recovering from mouth cancer surgery that claimed half of his lower jaw. Native to Des Moines, he moved back from Omaha to be near his daughter and grandchildren.

“My wife of 30 years, who I had grown up with, died in 2014,” he told us. “She was my best friend.” Fighting the pain of losing her, Nick drank heavily and eventually lost everything. He’d been a floor installer for 45 years and still wanted to work, but was unable.

“I lost my driver’s license because of my drinking, and the bus comes by here only two or three times a day,” Nick said. It would have cost $1,800 in fines to have his license reinstated so that he can get to work more easily.

“Joppa saved my life,” he explained. “I was getting rained on. There are more mosquitos than you know what to do with. There’s nothing to eat. Everything is damp and wet. Your clothes mildew and you have to throw them away and try to find new ones. It feels like you’re hiding from someone out here, but you’re really not. This is just the only place you can be.”

“Then Joppa came,” he said. “They brought water and mosquito spray. On Sundays, they brought food. They gave me bus tokens, a clean, dry sleeping bag, a tent, shoes, pants and LOVE.” He told us, “Without Joppa I wouldn’t have known where to go.”

Nick thought he was beating his cancer, but it was getting worse, so he had to continue fighting for his life. “Doctors told me it was stage 3 or 4, but I’m going to beat it because I have the Lord on my side. I don’t have cancer because I gave it to the Lord. I hope He’ll accept it, because it’s a lot, and living in a tent out here is tough.”

After his new diagnosis, Joppa continued to support him as he went for treatment in Iowa City. Joppa made sure he had rides to and from treatment, a bus pass, and a phone. But above all, Joppa gave him hope. At the time he was still homeless and, after treatment, returned to his tent in the woods. Joppa reconnected him with his daughter, and remained persistent about continuing treatment.

After continual advocacy on his behalf, Joppa connected Nick with Primary Health Care, who found an apartment for him through Anawim Housing. He moved in last fall.

“I was totally amazed. I went to Iowa City for a treatment and when I came home, Joppa had put furniture in my apartment, even pictures on the wall. I fell on the floor and started crying.”

“I thank the people who support Joppa,” he says tearing up. “Keep it up. Your donations keep Joppa strong. The Lord blessed you so you can bless other people.”

“I don’t know how I’ll live tomorrow or the next day,” Nick says, his thin body nearly swallowed by the big recliner, “but I hope Joppa helps more people like they helped me—and they helped me a bunch! God bless them. I ain’t done yet.”

To become a Joppa donor, visit joppa.org/donate.