His name is Dennis: The panhandling subject of Sheriff Arnott's viral post

Dennis Heiskill figures he was either in the bathroom or buying a pack of cigarettes Sunday afternoon when Greene County Sheriff Jim Arnott drove through the intersection at Kearney and Glenstone.

Heiskill, a homeless man who has been panhandling at that intersection for the past few months, had left his meager belongings behind knowing he'd be right back.

Arnott took photos of Heiskill's bag, coat and a few food items laying on the median and posted them to Facebook, warning people to stop giving items and money to panhandlers and instead give to organizations like the Salvation Army.

"Stop enabling this behavior," the sheriff wrote, and the post quickly went viral.

Previous: Sheriff Arnott says generous Springfield residents are enabling panhandlers

Heiskill knew nothing about the viral post until the Wheels to Work bus pulled up to his spot Tuesday morning and a volunteer told him. He later agreed to talk to the News-Leader.

He said there have been times when television news crews have come out to his intersection — which is close to a former homeless camp that was shut down in June — and shot video of him panhandling. But no one has ever asked him questions.

"I'm glad to have somebody talk to me," he said, offering the reporter a can of Pepsi.

When asked what he thought about the sheriff's photos and viral post, Heiskill shrugged.

"I think it's only fair I should get to go take pictures of his things," Heiskill said, chuckling.

Heiskill, 56, said he is originally from Mountain Home. He and his brother, Raymond, work as a team, panhandling to get money for a motel room and food.

Sometimes they can get a room for $30. Other times they've had to pay as much as $60.

If they don't get enough money from panhandling, they sleep in sleeping bags, Heiskill said.

The News-Leader called the motel where Heiskill said he stayed Monday night. The man at the front desk said Heiskill had checked out earlier that day.

Heiskill has been "flying a sign" on the corner of Kearney and Glenstone since March. It was around that time he "just run out of money" and his brother, who has a terminal illness that sometimes affects his mental state, wound up at Cox North for about a month.

Heiskill asked that the specifics of his brother's illness not be printed.

"My brother is not in good health. I'm not in good health either," he said. "I've been insulin-dependent diabetic since I was 32. I haven't had any insulin since probably January.

"Without insulin, I have to be careful when I get up and sit down. I get dizzy a lot," he said. "You just kind of deal with it."

He later led a reporter to his panhandling spot, a narrow median between opposing lanes of Kearney Street. Heiskill insisted she take his arm to be safe in the quickly moving traffic.

Nancy Crawford, a homeless advocate who befriended Heiskill several months ago, said that's how Heiskill is — always worrying about others.

"He cares more about other people than he cares about himself. He worries more about Raymond than he worries about himself," she said. "Just last week he asked me to quit going out on the median because he doesn't want me to get hit. He said just wave and he'd come over to me."

Heiskill said he panhandles pretty much all day. Due to a back injury, he usually sits on the median in front of Walmart.

"First of all, let me say Springfield, Missouri, can be proud of itself. This is the giving-est, most loving people I've ever encountered," he said. "God bless them."

But not everyone is nice, he said.

"They've sprayed me with pepper spray. Boy, that hurt me for several days. Got it all on my lips and stuff," Heiskill said. "Now the urine — I dodged it. And they did throw it twice. They came back and threw it again. And I dodged it. I've never retaliated.

"Mentally, it's a little degrading," he said. "But I've noticed the people who know me and drive by me are fast to hold up for me. And that makes me feel good. That gives me something to hold on to. That you are not just totally worthless."

Heiskill said he's found the best way to deal with angry motorists is to "ignore it and smile at them and wish them a happy day."

"A lot of people who wouldn't even wave at me or nod at me, now they do," he said. "So I always nod."

Crawford and Joey Moreira are Wheels to Work volunteers who have known Heiskill since the program started in June.

Wheels to Work is a pilot program that aims to connect panhandlers to employment and other resources. Twice a week, a bus goes around to popular panhandling intersections and offers rides to a place to shower, access resources and to the career center.

When they first met, Crawford said Heiskill was as "prickly as prickly could be."

"He turned around and said, 'I don't want to talk to nobody today,'" Crawford said. "I think he's come to have some trust in me. He was just kind of weary and standoffish. Now I think he knows I really do care about him."

Moreira agreed.

"Now he's like an old buddy," Moreira said.

In Arnott's viral post, the sheriff warned, "when you give nice coats, food and pack a bag with gloves, sweatshirts etc, after they have enough cash, they leave your stuff and go buy beer to enjoy back at their house."

Crawford and Moreira said they know scammers are out there, and that the scammers will often leave food and clothing items behind.

But Moreira estimates at least 70 to 80 percent of panhandlers he's encountered through Wheels to Work are indeed homeless and in need of help.

Crawford thinks the percentage is even higher.

"And some of them do have alcohol and substance abuse issues," Crawford said. "Self-medicating is necessary for some of these people. I feel strongly it is not the case with Dennis."

Crawford saw Arnott's post on Facebook and recognized Heiskill's belongings.

She responded with a Facebook post of her own, defending her friend.

Crawford's post was shared more than 300 times.

"It hurt to see a public official using his platform to dehumanize somebody that he is sworn to protect and serve," Crawford said. "To see my friend's life trivialized to this little pile of crap that was the full extent of his earthly possessions — it hurt."

Crawford said she has tried to persuade Heiskill to get on the Wheels to Work bus, catch a ride to One Door for a housing assessment.

So far, he has refused.

"I've filled out papers there and they told me they was going to help me in a short time and they didn't respond," Heiskill said. "Don't get me wrong. They do a lot of good. But for some reason, they didn't get to me."

But Crawford said she's not giving up Heiskill. She was hoping to pick him up early Wednesday to bring him to the HOPE Connection event in downtown Springfield.

"Dennis is real discouraged about getting services," she said. "I keep telling him you have to go every 90 days to keep his application updated."

Heiskill, sitting nearby, smiled at Crawford and Moreria.

"It does take compassion and love to deal with people like me," he said. "They are dealing with one real stubborn homeless person."

Michelle Garand, deputy director at One Door, said she understands why Heiskill is reluctant to engage with homeless services again.

Unfortunately, it can take weeks or months to get a homeless person into housing, Garand said. Many homeless people come into One Door, learn there isn't immediate help, and leave feeling deflated and discouraged, she said.

"We have a lot of individuals who are service resistant," she said. "It's hard for them to take that leap of faith, keep engaged (with One Door) and understand that the time spent is worth while."

Garand said the Wheels to Work program is providing excellent opportunities for advocates to start building relationships and trust with many service resistant homeless people like Heiskill.

"That first step is the hardest," she said. "Once he is ready, we are ready."

Sheriff Jim Arnott said on Tuesday he had not seen Crawford's post about Dennis Heiskill on Facebook. And the fact that the owner of the items in his photo had been identified surprised him, Arnott said.

"I am sure people will be interested in hearing that," he said. "That's a good story."

Still, Arnott was unmoved by Heiskill's situation.

"It's deeply concerning that Wheels to Work has been by several times and offered him assistance but he has refused," Arnott added.

Though he said he's had some critics on social media, Arnott said he has been inundated with messages and comments from people who support his views on panhandlers.

"It's been overwhelming," Arnott said. "People have shared the same concerns and shared stories of giving money and then finding that they go to a hotel or a car nearby."

Arnott said that learning that Heiskill panhandled to get money for a motel "disturbs me more than what I thought initially.

"He is back out there trying to get money for a hotel room when there are so many shelters in Springfield that would offer him a place to stay," Arnott said.

According to One Door director Adam Bodendieck, the only two Springfield shelters that accept single men — Salvation Army's Harbor House and Victory Mission's Victory Square — are both full.

Amanda Long, spokesperson for the Salvation Army, said one bed was freed up on Tuesday but there were men on the waiting list.