Gypsy
Posted by invisiblepeople | Filed under face and voice of homelessness
Gypsy is homeless on Iowa. The hardest part for her? Her children have been sleeping at a friend’s house for the past two months.
She gets to see her children during the day, but she wishes there were more to do. They can only stay in the public parks and attend free feedings. Some days, they misses these meals, and her children end up going without food.
Children should never have to suffer through homelessness.
Asked about her three wishes, she wishes for her children to be successful in their lives and for the people she’s met on the streets to do something positive with their life. After these two wishes for others, she can’t even think of a third.
Soon, Gypsy and her children will return to her home of Arizona thanks to the generosity of a church buying bus tickets.
Jody and Phillip
Posted by invisiblepeople | Filed under face and voice of homelessness, road trip
Jody lives in her car, while her 19-year-old son Phillip lives in a shelter in St. Paul, Minnesota. After being unfairly evicted from her apartment, she sold all she had to buy a car to live in.
As I was giving out socks, Phillip approached me. His shoes have holes all the way through, so he is unable keep his socks from wearing out. That’s how I entered into my conversation with these two. Thanks to Hanes I was able to help with much-needed socks
Their three wishes are simple—an apartment, a job, and car repairs.
We don’t often consider that the face of homelessness starts young. I hope to meet Phillip again one day with a story of success and victory rather than perpetual homelessness.
Pearl
Posted by invisiblepeople | Filed under face and voice of homelessness, road trip
I saw Pearl sleeping in front of a shelter in St. Paul, Minnesota.
She lives in fear of those she lives among. She laments those among the homeless that are strange, scary, and cold-hearted. It’s not all of them, and she knows some are “really kind.”
She spends her days on the lawn in front of the shelter, as she’s not prone to wandering the streets. With pain and trouble, she calls the shelter in St. Paul her home—unable to meet the income requirement for a case manager.
A truly warm and kind heart, Pearl isn’t what many of us expect when we try to put a face to homelessness.
Bird Man
Posted by invisiblepeople | Filed under face and voice of homelessness
I love interesting people. In Washington, DC I observed ‘Nature Boy’ walking down the street. He was such a contrast to the neighborhood I had to find him. As luck would have it we met at a park across the street from the White House. While driving the Embarcadero in San Francisco I got a glimpse of a man trying to leverage his wheelchair to dig deeper into a trash can. The next day I went back purposely to find Dale. For maybe a year now I would pass by ‘Bird Man’ regretting I didn’t have my camera on me. The times I drove to his Echo Park location off the 101 with my camera he was never there. Today that changed.
Ninja as he likes to be called has been on the streets for 20 years. He says the birds are attracted to him because he has a heart full of love. The very sad part is I often see him sleeping on the cold concrete under the freeway overpass.
I can very much relate to ‘Bird Man’. When I was homeless my pet iguana D.O.G provided me with a gimmick to increase panhandling revenue.
When I asked Ninja for his three wishes without hesitation he responded “health, wealth and wisdom”
Darryl
Posted by invisiblepeople | Filed under face and voice of homelessness, road trip
Before winter hit in St. Paul, Minnesota, I met Darryl. He’s been without a home since October, and he’s recently run into a new round of problems as his son needs assistance as well and he goes through a divorce from his wife.
He’s tried to return to live with his family a few times, but it’s never worked out. Complicated issues keep him from staying with them full-time while he finds his way back to his feet.
Asked for three wishes, he paused and eventually asked for only one thing: to turn back the hands of time. To have a fresh start and a second chance at his life.
Now in the middle of the Minnesota winter, I can only hope he found his second chance before the winter became too harsh.
Jim
Posted by invisiblepeople | Filed under face and voice of homelessness, road trip
Jim is experiencing homelessness as he waits on an identification card so he can find work before the cold hits in St. Paul, Minnesota. His tax returns from the previous years or (non-working) credit cards won’t suffice, so he has to find another way.
He isn’t looking to get rich or amass a fortune; his only wish is for a well-paying job. One that will let him survive from paycheck-to-paycheck.
It’s amazing that barriers as simple as identification are keeping hard-working and willing people out of jobs. Here’s to hoping Jim can get through the necessary red-tape to earn somewhere to call home.
Reggie
Posted by invisiblepeople | Filed under face and voice of homelessness, road trip
There was so much noise on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue Bridge I didn’t notice Reggie was asleep. I felt bad. I should have remembered when I was homeless. Sleep came when I felt safe, or when I was so exhausted I collapsed. Rarely did sleep happen at night. Rarely did I rest away from people where I would be alone and vulnerable.
The night before Reggie slept on a friends couch. More and more people including families are ‘couch surfing’ as an alternative to literally being on the streets. Just like the growing number in weekly rate hotels our government does not count this as being ‘homeless’. Reggie is lucky his friend is only charging $5 a night. As the economy gets worse I’m hearing more stories of people taking advantage of even their own relatives.
Sandra
Posted by invisiblepeople | Filed under face and voice of homelessness, road trip
Sandra is a young girl homeless on the streets of Chicago. She lost her job and place to stay.
Sandra really is invisible. Hundreds of people walk past as she tries to panhandle enough for a nights hotel stay. And because she sleeps in a hotel, government agencies do not count her as being homeless.
Sandra says, “most people don’t pay that much attention”.
Together we can change that.
Blogger Megan Cottrell joined me that day and you can read her post here
Mark
Posted by invisiblepeople | Filed under face and voice of homelessness, road trip
I met Mark in the suburbs–another victim of the Detroit economy.
With a checkered past, Mark is unable to find employment, and he spends most of his time looking to shelter himself from the weather, from snow to sun. Asked why he stays in Michigan, he explains that it’s because “it’s where he was born.”
It’s a solemn reminder of how important it is to have something to call “home.” Despite having that, he’s sleeping outside, and he recently had his possessions and identification stolen.
We must never give up on people. Whatever his past has held, everyone deserves a second chance. I am living proof that people do change.
Let’s hope Mark’s future holds promise and brightness.
Karen
Posted by invisiblepeople | Filed under face and voice of homelessness, road trip
Karen is waiting for a Section 8 inspection to move into a new residence. Unfortunately, in the mean time, she’s staying on the streets. And it’s been three weeks so far.
She’s feeling the pain and frustration of living amongst drug-users and drug-dealers as she tries to enter into a new phase of her life.
Karen wishes only for some money, peace of mind and getting into her new residence. It’s a shame that we can’t provide solutions for people like Karen who are simply transitioning and trying to make the right choices.
Currently in Los Angeles I’m trying to find help for a homeless single mom with two kids waiting on a Section 8 inspection. It makes no sense that a program to help low income people with housing would not expedite an inspection.
