On paper, Viatcheslav "Steve" Abramian is a millionaire. Two years ago, a Middlesex County jury handed down a verdict awarding the former Harvard security guard over $1.2 million in an anti-discrimination suit.

But from his bed in a Jamaica Plain homeless shelter, he's still waiting for his money.

Six years ago, Abramian lost his home and car after he was dismissed from his Harvard post, in what the jury later ruled was discrimination based on national origin and retaliation for his complaints.

Now the University's lawyers are appealing the decision, questioning the trial judge's conduct in the case. Oral arguments before the Mass. Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) will be slated for the coming months.

Abramian is also preparing for the next round of an extended court battle, but he's eager to get on with a future he envisioned long before he was forced to leave Harvard.

He wants to be a diplomat with a PhD. In March, he'll earn his master's degree from Northeastern. And he's told his lawyers that a small out-of-court settlement isn't enough.

"At least I survived the most difficult time," he says. "If Harvard doesn't want to settle with me, I have no choice but to continue my fight."

Life on the Streets