FORT WORTH, Texas — For these nine men, the home is a refuge – a place they might not otherwise be without Tina Collins.
Many of them moved in after she opened her boarding home in 2016. Most of them have served time in prison and suffer from various mental illnesses, including bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
“So my guys here at this home, they have nothing,” she said. “They don't have cars. They don't have money. The only thing they have is what they get from Social Security or disability.”
For them, Collins’ boarding home is the difference between having a clean and safe home and living on the streets.
“I call them my boys,” Collins told us. “They get along like brothers.”
The men often call her, “Mom,” though she’s younger than most of them by far.
Recently, boarding homes have been cast in a negative spotlight after the arrest of boarding home operator Regla “Su” Becquer. Becquer is in jail on an endangerment charge. Another boarding home operator, Tiffany Brown, was arrested on criminal negligence charges.
Both of them ran boarding homes in cities that did not require licensing.
“The problem is basically a lack of affordable, accessible housing,” said Dennis Borel with the Coalition for Texans with Disabilities. “These boarding homes fill that niche."
Fort Worth passed its boarding home ordinance last year. Collins' home is one of ten boarding homes licensed by the city.
Collins agrees regulation of boarding homes is needed.
“A lot of the owners are in it for the money unfortunately," Collins said. "I don't understand how you can open up a home and not have the heart or the compassion to take care of people that needs help.”
Jackie Roberson moved in six years ago. He spent about 30 years in prison.
I asked him what he was in for. “Robbing banks,” he responded matter-of-factly. I asked where he’d be if he didn’t live here.
“On the streets, I guess,” he said. “I can’t make it out there. I’m 82 years old.”
Joseph Ennis, another of the residents, did live on the streets. Ennis, 62, calls the men who live in the home his brothers.
Trouble resides on the second floor of the home. Trouble the cat, that is.
The cat belongs to Donald Gillespie.
Gillespie, now 65, fled to North Texas in 2017 during Hurricane Harvey.
“She will go out of her way to help us,” he says.
Gillespie does most of the handyman and yard work around the home.
“They respect me, and I respect them,” Collins said.
Many of the men have no family. But for the few that do, she says she encourages them to visit.
“That helps me and that helps them because they look forward to seeing their family,” Collins said.
She provides cooked meals Monday through Friday. The men order out on the weekends. Collins often accompanies the men on their doctor’s appointments.
“Somebody’s got to be an advocate for them,” she said.