PLEASE MEET MICHELLE:
The Jungle is a city designated Emphasis Area where, “Encampments have become consistent problems.” The Mayor’s office clarifies, “The City makes determinations based on the totality of the circumstances.” It’s all the same to Michelle. Because generally, and in totality, the emphasis of Emphasis Areas is you’re getting swept. She was setting poles at her new camp when I arrived by the mud trail. “You brought some of your wife’s bread, right?” I asked how her new place was working out. “It’s ok actually. There are fewer rats.”
Michelle was an RN. She’s patient. A caring woman who enjoys conversation on a nice day and hates being cold. She loves her family, blood-wise and otherwise. She has the demeanor of… an RN. So what drove Michelle to homelessness? Why would an RN live here? Maybe it started when her mother shot her in the back as a kid, leaving a bullet lodged in her kidney. Or maybe a subsequent traumatic experience lodged deeper in her mind and heart.
Michelle describes her childhood as horrid. Her mother was bipolar. Schizophrenic with multiple personalities and a drug habit. Against odds, Michelle finished high school and a BS degree in nursing. She went on to become a mom with visions of an MSN degree. But things went bad. Perhaps childhood stresses caught up. “I snapped. I don’t remember everything. I did some real bad things to someone.” Michelle intended to protect her sister, but in doing so committed a serious crime. She hid, and became homeless. Evading the law and working secretly for a travelling carnival for two years. The carnival ended with a five year prison sentence. Followed by a meth habit. And more homelessness.
Michelle is honest. She owns her situation. She places no blame. She keeps no score. She has a vision of escaping homelessness. She’s ready, but cautious. What does her vision look like? A long pause, “I, don’t know.” For now homelessness is a conscious decision recognizing the risks and fears she has of sheltered living. A precautionary approach that protects herself and others. She feels safe in her tent in the woods. “I can feel sounds and movement outside my tent. I can distinguish between a rat and an intruder.”
Why is Michelle homeless? “I’m afraid. Afraid of snapping again. Of depriving others. Afraid of change after being outside for so long.” Counselors have suggested that Michelle suffers from Schizoaffective Disorder. She has tried to get help. “If I could get the help I need I would be there with bells. I’d be out of here. Something will work out. I just don’t know what.” We love Michelle.
As I prepare to leave Michelle hugs me. A pickup slows down on the nearby onramp. An angry man shouts, “Get a job ya piece of crap!”
Beacon Hill neighborhood | Damian
A QUIET THOUGHT - If you're moved by the goodness of this community, please visit http://www.facinghomelessness.org/ and click on the 'donate' button and consider a "monthly recurring" donation of just $5 in support of the work. THANK YOU!
#JustSayHello #FacingHomelessness #Kindness Crosscut KING 5
