A few weeks ago I introduced a three-part series on homelessness that focuses on interviews with a homeless woman in Los Angeles. I was prompted to interview her partly because she is a friend of mine and I’ve watched her struggle with homelessness for more than three years, and partly because it’s so very rare that any homeless person is ever included or interviewed for discussions of the issue in the media. The best people to give “expert” advice on the status and challenges of homelessness are the homeless themselves. Many people also don’t fully understand how one becomes homeless. This series aims to speak to the often-misconceived notions of the nature of homelessness, as well as to provide a raw look at the reality and challenges of street life.

I first met Shawnee when I was doing academic research at a homeless newspaper in Santa Monica, CA, called Making Change (it’s now defunct). She was a non-paid homeless organizer of the paper, responsible for reporting on issues of homelessness and working with other fellow homeless in the area to produce a quarterly newspaper that was distributed to the local community.

Shawnee is a 34-year-old woman with severe health challenges. She has been homeless almost all her life. She was born in Arizona, and spent her life in and out of foster care. She lived with several foster families, the majority of which were abusive.  When she was 13, she left “home” to escape the abuse, and found herself in homeless shelters. “I just cried and cried when I realized what was going on, that I was homeless,” she says.

Because her family life was so unstable, Shawnee missed almost an entire year of school and barely graduated high school. When she did, she left Arizona and fled to California in search of a better life, where she’s been ever since. Because of the lack of health care throughout her childhood, Shawnee began developing severe health issues including epilepsy, diabetes, and asthma. Eventually, she became confined to a wheelchair.

As the cycle goes, Shawnee could not hold down an adequate job because of her health challenges, and therefore could not afford housing. Because she couldn’t afford housing, her health continued to deteriorate.

Today, Shawnee supports herself on an $800-a-month disability check. It’s not enough to pay for an apartment, so she spends the money on food, a storage unit for a few belongings, and a cell phone, and often sleeps in parking lots and churches around the city.

Many people are often confused as to why some homeless people seem to prefer to be on the streets rather than in shelters. In Shawnee’s case, since she has a service animal to alert her of oncoming seizures, and is confined to a wheelchair, it’s very difficult for her to find a shelter that will accommodate her. She also prefers to be on the streets; shelters are often more dangerous, as disease is easily spread and theft is common.

Shawnee is currently on a waiting list for Section 8 housing and serves as an activist in the Los Angeles homeless community. Because the homeless population in Los Angeles is so large, housing, even government and low income housing, is nearly impossible to get.

Next week I’ll post Part II, which will include my interview with Shawnee. Stay tuned…

As the country broke racial and historical barriers and elected Barack Obama yesterday, hope of global unity, prosperity, growth, opportunity, and peace flooded the nation.

Today, on the streets of New York, the electric energy and excitement can be felt as soon as you step outside. Strangers are smiling at eachother, people are cheering in the streets, and the restoration of faith in the country, in mankind, and in eachother is pulsating through the air.

On a global level, let’s hope this election means a progression of change and refocused efforts on extremely important development issues across the world. Obama’s success in shifting not only the party in office but the way we think about and act toward the world and eachother is sure to prove fruitful in our quest for successful international development, and most importantly, peace.