I've been telling stories about the homeless since 2010. I am always intrigued by the irony of who we as the public think homeless people are versus the reality of homeless people's daily ingenuity, coping powers, and life skills.
At the same time, I want to let homeless people know that they are people worth my attention because if you value a person, they are likely to value themselves. And obviously, the opposite is also true.
I've been hoping that these stories will resonate with the public - that the public will see that the homeless person is just like them and that that realization will inspire people to do something to get their neighbor off of the street.
Instead, the public pays little attention until something about the homeless makes them angry (like poop in the streets), sad (like homeless people getting killed by sociopaths), or impressed (like a homeless kid getting into Harvard).
My publicist says people work on emotion and judgment. She wants me to put words like "useless" and "fight" into my publicity copy. I know she is right, but that's not the product I'm selling. Unfortunately for me, the stories I present focus on regular people and possible solutions - and solutions aren't sexy.
I joke that I need to start telling stories about homeless pornography (which I don't know to exist) in order to inspire focused effort and resources that will get people into stable housing.
The problem is, homeless porn might get the porn stars housing, but that won't help the thousands of other homeless who didn't attract the attention. I wish all homeless had a golden voice or saved a school bus full of children - but they don't and they didn't. They are just people trying to live their lives with what they have and I want to help them - because I was taught that this country does not accept failure.
So I guess, here's my emotional plea - "No excuses, let's fix this!"
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