Archive for the ‘face and voice of homelessness’ Category
Kim
Posted by invisiblepeople | Filed under alaska, face and voice of homelessness, road trip
Until my recent trip to Anchorage, Alaska, I had never heard the term “Chronic Public Inebriate,” yet in Alaska the word “inebriate” is spoken everywhere. It is so grafted in Anchorage’s culture that even the homeless call themselves inebriates. At first it bothered me, but I soon learned that Anchorage’s homeless problem is very complex, [...]
Michael
Posted by invisiblepeople | Filed under face and voice of homelessness, road trip
I met Michael on the streets of Denver, playing his guitar. After being a personal nurse for someone who kicked him out, he returned to the streets he’d been on for 20 years before.
Michael never panhandles; instead he plays his acoustic guitar on the streets. If you listen to him, it’s not hard to imagine [...]
Shawn
Posted by invisiblepeople | Filed under face and voice of homelessness, road trip
Shawn moved to Colorado to be with someone, but then they broke up. As of March 2007, he was still working some, but also living in a shelter. He was frustrated at the way the shelter was treating the homeless of Boulder.
Shawn had plenty of wisdom to share and some challenges to the shelters in [...]
Rico
Posted by invisiblepeople | Filed under face and voice of homelessness
I first met Rico at the Glendale Winter Shelter, drawn to his large canvas of bright colors. We’ve had some rainy weather in Los Angeles this winter, and the National Guard allowed us to keep the armory open during the day. Rico didn’t mind the rain; it excited him because he could work on his [...]
Boston
Posted by invisiblepeople | Filed under face and voice of homelessness, road trip
Boston has been on the street for 15 years. He has mental health issues, and he consistently fights with depression and addiction. As a child, he lost both of his parents–his mother to murder. From there, it was to his grandparents, an alcoholic and dysfunctional household.
He left there for the streets, and in his own [...]
Brian
Posted by invisiblepeople | Filed under face and voice of homelessness, road trip
Brian has been without a home for the last 39-years. A Vietnam-era veteran who has recently discovered he is HIV-positive, he feels like he is still trying to find his way through life.
Now, he is experiencing homelessness and recovering from heroin addiction in Des Moines, Iowa, and he laments being 54-years old and trying to [...]
Gypsy
Posted by invisiblepeople | Filed under face and voice of homelessness, road trip
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
