Archive for April, 2009
Eve
Posted by invisiblepeople | Filed under face and voice of homelessness
What would you do if you were homeless, being evicted from tent city, and thought that jail was your best option? Welcome to Eve’s world. She’d been homeless for four years. I met her last week in Sacramento’s infamous tent city. The morning I met her, the police had showed up, tore down a tent, [...]
Donna
Posted by invisiblepeople | Filed under face and voice of homelessness
Donna is a single mother of five children. She has been homeless for about a year, choosing to live in a tent by the river instead of staying in a shelter. Although she has encountered unthinkable dangers while living outside- vandalism, assault- she still prefers this over staying in a shelter. This may seem counter-intuitive [...]
Chris
Posted by invisiblepeople | Filed under face and voice of homelessness
The tent city in Sacramento has been all over the news worldwide. Heck, even Oprah went there. Sadly, the media glare that captured the world’s attention was also the impetus for the mayor’s order to dismantle tents, causing hundreds of residents to be displaced. Ironic, isn’t it. Most residents of Sacramento’s tent city were living [...]
Cecilia and Juliana
Posted by invisiblepeople | Filed under face and voice of homelessness
Forget everything you’ve ever thought about homeless. It’s not always a guy with a cardboard sign begging for money. Not everyone has a shopping cart. It goes far beyond tent cities. The reality is that families are the fastest growing segment of the homeless population. The average homeless person is nine years old and in [...]
Willy
Posted by invisiblepeople | Filed under face and voice of homelessness
Last week I met Willy near Times Square in Manhattan. The previous night he had tried to get into a shelter but was turned away. With homelessness on the rise, many city shelters are past capacity. Sadly, this means folks like Willy are left on the streets. Willy is in rough shape; he has arthritis [...]
Jennifer
Posted by invisiblepeople | Filed under face and voice of homelessness
Meet Jennifer. Last night, she slept outside on a sidewalk near Times Square in New York City. If that doesn’t break your heart, then this will: Jennifer is six months pregnant. I first met Jennifer at the Burbank Winter Shelter in California. On March 15th, this cold weather shelter closed, putting hundreds of people back [...]
Tony
Posted by invisiblepeople | Filed under face and voice of homelessness
You’ve seen him before: the homeless guy at the highway off-ramp holding a cardboard sign, panhandling. As he walks down the row of cars, you avoid eye contact at all costs out of fear he might approach your window. You look straight ahead and hope he doesn’t see you, hope the light turns green soon. [...]
