Article content continued

At its height, Nellis said SLOW had about 15 members paying dues to the IWW. He didn’t reveal how many members there were when he decided to pack it in. The dues were based on income, but the minimum was $5 a month.

Nellis said the members looked out for each other and did lobbying and advocacy work.

The IWW withdrew its support in October, said Nellis, though it never actually financially supported the Windsor panhandlers union.

“They decided even at a cost of free, they didn’t want it,” said Nellis.

He tried to keep the union going on his own with plans to “reorganize as a non-profit.”

Nellis said he has been paying the $540 a month rent on the space, where he lives in the basement. He gets $475 a month for rent from ODSP. He topped up the rest with money he borrowed or made reading tarot cards.

“I have some money,” said Nellis. “I basically live on ramen and rice. And I live in an unfinished basement with no heat, no air conditioning, no shower. I take sponge baths in the sink. All so that I could afford to keep this place going.”

Nellis said he moved to Windsor, specifically to start SLOW, after he “retired” from the Ottawa Panhandlers Union (OPU).

He said he borrowed about $4,000 to buy furniture and do renovations at the Tecumseh Road spot.

Then earlier this month, Nellis said, the landlord told him he was told he was being evicted. He has to be out May 11, but he went to Superior Court Tuesday in hopes of filing a request to delay that.

Nellis said he was informed the landlord’s insurance company wouldn’t provide coverage with SLOW as a tenant because “we’re not a real business.”

“This was my dream,” said Nellis. “It was my dream to open a community centre. A place where people on the street could come read a book, hang out, get a coffee and not have to worry about cost, but also not have to worry about following any religious organization’s rules or dealing with the bureaucracy of government.”

twilhelm@postmedia.com

twitter.com/WinStarWilhelm