Halle Berry, Jim Carrey, Kelsey Grammer, Kurt Cobain, Drew Carey, Don Imus, Daniel Craig, Jewel, Lil' Kim, Dr. Phil, William Shatner, Martin Sheen, Hilary Swank, Jean Claude Van Damme, Shania Twain and more.
Surely there is someone for you to admire or appreciate in this list, no matter what your taste in popular culture. This disparate collection of folks have all experienced homelessness during their lifetimes. Although stardom is their defining characteristic, I like to imagine that those experiences have deepened their compassion and empathy, only heightening their artistic accomplishments.
However, I would like to introduce you to an individual who has used her experience of homelessness in a different way. Charniele Herring is a state delegate in Virginia. And although she is by no means a single issue politician, she discusses it openly and advocates for housing, education and employment assistance. Delegate Herring delivered a keynote speech at the National Alliance to End Homelessness conference this summer, and told her personal story.
Her story is like many others: it started with her parent's divorce, meandered through desperate attempts to keep their housing, and ended with her and her mother living at a family shelter. She vividly recounted her feelings of isolation and shame, and how she went without meals at school to avoid being stigmatized as a "free lunch" kid. She perceived that she was in physical danger from bullies if her homeless status was ever revealed. Her grades suffered due to her physical and emotional exhaustion. Her birthday present one year was a trip to a fast food restuarant and that meal was the only she ate that day.
Yes, her story of how she received a chance to go to college and then excelled is inspiring. In fact, her palpable sincerity and passion transfixed the room. I have no doubt that she is a symbol of hope and achievement to many. And she said something that I wish that more people could hear.
What she said, in essence, was that the programs that she and her family used helped her. She clearly recalled two very pivotal moments. One was that she and her mother received financial help with moving back to an apartment. As she described the feeling of once again sleeping in her own bed and the feeling of safety and security that it evoked, I couldn't help but imagine thousands of homeless children going to sleep each night, and the gnawing fears that they must feel.
The second pivotal moment was when she was accepted to a pre-college summer program at George Mason University. Although her grades had suffered during her homelessness, she soon excelled again, and got her BA in economics there. She went on to get a law degree as well.
Recalling this moment, she talked about being recognized for who she was, despite her temporary status as a homeless person. The point here is that the help she and her family received changed the entire course of their lives, and our world is a better place for it. Charniele stirred the entire room as she discussed how housing, job programs and food assistance programs are the basic building blocks of solving homelessness. Sure, we know that on one level, but we heard how she has dedicated her life to studying economics and creating political change. She has lived out her question — how could it be that our economic system allows these incredible disparities in a nation of wealth and privilege?
Being seen as a person. Being seen as who you are. Being heard. Being safe. Give today's homeless children that gift and the world will have more people like Charniele in it.
Believe me, we need them.
Photo credit: DownTown Pictures
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In August of 2008, I assigned requested that my social security disability be mailed to my father, an attorney who handles big accounts... like Martin Armstrong big, Madoff big Drexel-Burnham-Lambert big.... I never dreamed that he would find a way to punish me for the crime of being -- wow... for the crime of "being."
At first, he left the country. I had no food, no money for gas so that I could drive myself to the endless MRIs, CT scans, and even though my mother offered to cancel her trip to the Islands while they were performing surgery, she ultimately cancelled because I did not have enough money for gas to pick her up from the airport in between hospital visits.
Evicted for $4.50 because I made the mistake of believing that my family could be trusted to manage my disability funds while I was scheduled for breast surgery. that was mistake number one.... apparently $4.50 was too much to ask... so I learned the hard and the courts were there to make sure that there was not a single penny left over for food or even one night in a hotel so I could escape the madness.
Yes. I definitely learned the hard way.
So now, I know ~exactly~ what I am worth. And though you may think my silence means I have forgotten... do not write me off just yet. I am not dead yet.
My life will never be the same.
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