PLEASE MEET JAMIE :
Entering an encampment there’s a sense of crossing a line. Trespassing into a separate reality. Across the tracks physically and figuratively. A people apart. Shadows and souls stir under the bridge. Take the high road and you’ll miss it. Take the low road and ignore it. Or follow the muddy path near the entrance. It can be steep and slippery. It leads inward.
“Jypsy was right. You’re ok.” she said finally. Building trust with Jamie was a game of interpersonal dodge ball. One anticipates their opponent’s moves. Sometimes incorrectly. Jamie’s a tough read. Moving one way on the surface. Another underneath. We’d seen her around the past couple years. In the encampments. Glancing like a cat then gone. “I have mental health problems. Talking to new people is not easy for me.” Beneath the surface tension there’s a girl next door. Quiet and confident, running deep. She writes poetry and reads. Her thoughts categorized and ordered. A woman.
Jamie grew up with three sisters and two parents. Her mom was sometimes abusive. Her father kind and loving. In her mid 20’s she began hearing voices. She was fired for reacting to an employee she thought had verbally disrespected her son. She understood and accepted that something was wrong with her. “I’ve learned to handle the voices. The phantom touches are more difficult. On my legs and arms. I feel like I’m on fire.”
Homeless for 10 of her 37 years, Jamie remains optimistic. Even funny at times. She has recently connected with the REACH organization for help. She is interested in an eventual career in medical records.
Jamie feels safer being off medications these days. Because becoming stable presents the risk of becoming unstable. A horrifying transition for her. Jamie carries scars from traumatic events earlier in life. Her three children were taken from her. She has twice attempted suicide. She was raped as a young woman. She told me how many times.
Ironically, through homelessness Jamie has learned to be constructive and disciplined with herself. She kisses her dog Meatball and laughs, “To keep myself honest I call out the false masks I sometimes wear that are not me: Jackass, Stupid B, Dumb C.” She has discovered five pillars important to good mental health, each instilled by individual homeless people she admires: “Take chances, establish boundaries, respect yourself, know you can do it yourself, and laugh often.” To the outside world she says, “You are more like me than you care to know.”
I feel I know Jamie as a friend now. It was worth it. As I left she asked, “Please call my dad. Tell him I’m ok.”
Georgetown neighborhood | Damian
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