Pete Passes

Homeless President Leaves the Scene

We had the pleasure of meeting with a guy, Pete Domanovic, who proclaimed himself President of the Homeless.  He sold the Homeless Grapevine in Cleveland, and struggled with trying to obtain his identification.  He kicked around the Slavic Village neighborhood in Cleveland, and always had an idea for how to improve life in Cleveland.  He was so depressed in seeing what happened to his old neighborhood with the foreclosure disaster.  He hated seeing the dirty streets and the abandoned buildings that marked and destroyed his neighborhood.  He complained everyday about the elected officials in Cleveland who allowed this to happen.  He always had a solution in mind for every problem, and I think that is why he took on the title of "homeless president." 

Here is the memorial page that his friends in Indiana put together: 

Pete became homeless at the age of twelve, living on the streets of Cleveland, Ohio. He has been all over the country doing different types of work, from the pipe yards in Texas, the shipyards in Alabama, the kitchens of Atlanta, manufacturing in Ohio, and everything in between. Finally, Pete found home in Bloomington, Indiana.  He knew Bloomington would be his final destination; it was a special place. Starting in the streets  he progressed to a stable job and moved into an apartment. He even acquired a cat “who had manners”.  During his own personal battles Pete wanted to educate the public about homelessness. He started writing about homelessness on a blog and had the opportunity to speak about homeless issues at Indiana University.  Pete wanted to inform people of the larger problem at hand– the inadequate social services and the need of individual-specific services for the poor, homeless and elderly.

Pete didn’t fight the battles alone, someone helped.  Someone lent a hand, someone gave, someone loved. Pete always returned the blessing; he was an amazing man.  Pete often spoke of Helpers, a project based in Bloomington.  He liked the idea and frequently donated part of his income to Helpers.

All of us at NEOCH were sorry to hear of Pete's passing and will miss him.

Brian Davis
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