I actually visited Church Under the Bridge that day with my small group from church. Meaning: my first time talking with homeless people, with friends by my side. Meaning: I got to participate in some group conversations that were far cries from interviews. And the energy felt different, somehow. For one, it was somehow scarier to approach people and initiate conversations with a friend at my side. It was viscerally easier to stand in one place and talk to her. So maybe it’s just easier for me to force myself into courage when I’m alone and give myself no easy alternative.
But at the same time, once we found ourselves in conversations with the homeless, the group dynamic made for some really interesting opportunities. My friend got some references that I didn’t and was able to make those connections, for example. And I could simply listen for a little—the burden in directing a conversation was shared. And if nothing else, one more person learned quite a bit more about the realness of homelessness and the complexity of people’s backgrounds.
In the future, I’m going to try and advocate that other people take on the same kind of work/investigation I am, because even reading about someone isn’t the same as talking to him.
I did get to talk with ‘Anthony’ that day. I had several takeaways:
1. Pickiness permissible?
Here’s an exact quote: “The apartment I have, I’m paying $1200. And then if you have a dog, you have to pay en extra $100. It’s crazy. Then if come over here to the ghetto,:$250. No good: roach-y, rats, ugh. No good. I don’t like that kind of living. ”
I’d previously thought that if you’re homeless, having any home at all is an obvious improvement. You should be really grateful to have any sort of roof, leaky or not—any sort of walls, mice-infested or not. But that might not be the case. Having a home can be worse than homelessness if the home is so dirty or dangerous that it’s unsafe—or if it simply doesn’t suit you. I suppose that’s part of the whole choice issue: what do you look for in a home?
2. Choice?
Obviously, Anthony’s case is special. It seems that his may be the only case in which homelessness is 100%, indisputably a choice. Nothing is holding him back from returning to ‘normal’ life. And he will, once he reaches his experiment’s end point.
I’ve read some other sources about experiments in homelessness (www.nevblog.com/the-homeless-experiment-experience, http://weekonthestreet.blogspot.com/2008/04/week-on-street-documentary, and many others I’m sure). And I’m still not sure what to think. I doubt that a short trial living homeless can accurately teach all of what chronic homelessness might mean, although there definitely might be some culture-shock value. In any case, I hope Anthony learns something of use towards empathy.
Thanks for reading,
Isabella, 3/5/17
← Read Anthony’s Story
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