Homeless man with master’s wants to be a taxi man in new year
Published:Thursday | December 31, 2020 | 12:14 AMNadine Wilson-Harris/Staff Reporter
Claudius Brown earned his master’s degree the same year he went to live at a homeless shelter in Kingston, but after several failed attempts to secure a permanent job, he has his eyes set on becoming a taxi driver in 2021.
A former member of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, Brown said he was deported from the United States in 2006 for overstaying.
Brown left Jamaica when he was 24 years old and after serving as a police officer for two years.
“The only reason why I left is because my father was sick. That’s why I went to the United States. When I went there, I saw that he didn’t have anybody to help him, so I stayed,” he said.
Initially, he was offered shelter by friends upon his deportation, but then it came time to fend for himself and in 2016, he went to live at the Open Arms Drop-In Centre in Kingston. That same year, he earned a master’s in theological studies from the Nations University in the US. He had also obtained a first degree from the same university in 2010.
Brown said he had placed an advertisement seeking a job doing pastoral work and was contacted by two churches, but the discussions were not fruitful.
“One said it would have been better for me to start my own congregation because nobody is going to want to hire me into their church because they don’t know me,” he told The Gleaner.
Brown has at least two diplomas, City and Guilds certification in basic electrical installation, and since recently, he received his Private Security Regulation Authority licence. After years of working temporarily for others, he wants to go into the taxi business so he can be more independent.
After doing a few ‘roasts’, Brown was able to purchase a car three months ago. He now hopes to secure funds to insure, license and do minor repairs on the car.
“I am trying my best to start my own taxi business,” he said, when asked his wish for the new year.