Gracie Crilley, 67, avoided the latest encampment sweep In North Hills, San Fernando Valley, which put many of her friends behind bars yet again; here she speaks openly about her real concerns regarding the regular confiscation of personal property, including the medications she takes for her COPD, and her hopefulness that LA Family Housing might finally rescue her from life on the streets…

This version includes flashback video of Gracie speaking to a Neighborhood Council meeting, and days later being handcuffed and taken to jail for staying in an illegal encampment.

Read the whole blog post at Patheos.com

Is this what we want, for Gracie to be holding up a sign when she is 67?

General Jeff

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General Jeff, the “Mayor of Skid Row,” before his very informative, frank, generous presentation to our documentary photojournalism class; his message is one that anyone interested in matters of urban poverty, homelessness, the situation in Los Angeles and especially the ins-and-outs of the ongoing full-blown humanitarian crisis on Skid Row had better learn. Not unlike any settlement where the inhabitants are essentially displaced peoples, Jeff is part of the heart that asserts its autonomy and demands self-respect. And not unlike, for example, a refugee camp, where the inhabitants have no real power in the face of violence and levels of degradation most only have to wonder about, his leadership is heroic and essential and relentless.

Three questions

In preparation for an exhibition on homelessness currently in the planning stages at the Museum of Social Justice in Los Angeles, I was asked three very simple and direct questions, which challenged me to define the motivations and expectations of the One of Us project:

1.     Is there one thing, or one experience that tangibly crystalized the dedication that drives you to pursue this project with such ferocity? Or is there a significant experience you can point to that initiated your motivation to provoke change in how homelessness is treated in Los Angeles?

Homelessness in Los Angeles is a humanitarian crisis that can’t be ignored. Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas recently characterized it as the defining issue of the time, and better late than never, it is good to find so much activity and mobilization going on now. I’m personally motivated by a sense of outrage over the passive-aggressive way much of society deals with the homeless population, and alarm at the way the problem has been allowed to fester and grow. The relationships, trust and even friendships I’ve established with an odd fraternity of homeless individuals (and activists) in my own community has only reinforced and illuminated these beliefs.

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Photographs and words can only interpret and represent, and in actuality there are already more than enough dramatic photographs of deprivation and suffering, and enough anecdotal information and demographics to convince the powers-that-be to do the needful. The media, myself included, have been complicit in this. With the notable exception of the few instances where photographs, reportage and even Art have had a direct, measurable effect on its subjects, the ubiquity of coverage has only added to an overwhelming sense of intractability and despair, perpetrating harmful stereotypes and further serving to objectify the homeless as some homogeneous societal woe.

What harm can there be in listening to and learning from those who are actually living this nightmare on a daily basis? The concept of soliciting the personal stories and portraits that became One of Us arose out of a longstanding collaboration with Wade Trimmer, director of the San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission. Wade encouraged me to pursue our common interest in “humanizing” the homeless, a phrase that on its face seems redundant and offensive because it infers that each person encountered in this work is not unquestionably and obviously quite human already. So we want to remind the public of this simple fact of humanity; the motivation for this approach lies in the desire to change the conversation surrounding homelessness, to bring it back to a human level, to perhaps nudge anyone who encounters the material to feel more inclined to enact real, sustainable solutions.


2.     If you were to ask the participants of “One of Us” what the most important message we need to convey would be, what do you think they would say?

The conversations we recorded with more than 40 individuals provide a wide variety of answers to that question. Taken collectively, they present a pretty comprehensive catalog of the causes of homelessness and the many obstacles that make it such a difficult situation to rise above. At the risk of overusing another cliché, in the context of “giving voice to the voiceless” as a path toward human autonomy and dignity, the most important messages I heard were connected with the longing for understanding and empathy from the general public and law enforcement. 

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Each person’s story touches on this in some way, whether it is boyish, twenty-something Jesse who dreams of becoming a doctor or nurse while currently living in his car in the parking lot of the Walmart store he works in, or Nancy, an elderly Southern debutante whose safe world was turned upside down after being victimized by real estate fraud. Ultimately it doesn’t matter how many stories are told, how many “likes” their images collect on social media, or any of that. They just need affordable housing.

3.     What is your favorite image and why?

There’s a big distinction between the studio-lit portraits made in locations where the people were for the most part comfortable and knew they were in a safe place among friends and allies (possibly having just eaten a warm breakfast and used the portable shower unit), and those taken out in the streets and encampments. While I’m gratified that so many of the close-up portraits reveal a sense of common humanity that transcends their economic or living conditions, my favorite picture is often one I have just recently taken, portraying both personal and symbolic meanings. 

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Right now an image I feel conveys some measure of universal hope, if not redemption, is that of Gracie holding up the tiny portrait of a baby girl recently born to her street-mate Emmy. The baby was the only survivor of twins, and Gracie was noticeably proud to have been anointed her “honorary grandmother.” As tragic as the circumstances surrounding the child’s birth may be, and as uncertain as the future is now for Gracie, Emmy and the rest of the people in this one camp—a microcosm of homelessness in Los Angeles—there is still the desire to sustain a sense of familial belonging.

Empowerment

valencialauren:

By Lauren Valencia

Strong resilient women participated in a self-defense class to better understand techniques for protecting themselves and fighting back when the time is crucial. Laura Rathbone hosted a self-defense class with defense instructor and senior black belt Michelle at North Valley Caring Services on Sunday, March 26th.

Rathbone is very involved in the community and helping people in need. She works tremendously with the homeless community and says too many people are misinformed about the homeless community. She pointed out that over 25% of the homeless are working and that many people couldn’t come to this event because they were working at the time. Rathbone mentioned that she feels it is important for everyone to take a self-defense class.

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“I hope you learn something today that will make you more confident,” said defense instructor Michelle.

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Michelle expressed the gratitude she feels from being able to impact women who come from different walks of life. She spoke on her childhood of abuse and has overtime learned to accept herself.

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“One thing we have in common is that we are strong,” said Michelle. “We are silent, but deadly. We don’t quit!”

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Michelle said it is important to always be prepared to defend yourself because you never know when you could get hit. You must always be ready.

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Michelle shows the women different techniques in different situations of being attacked.

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Rathbone asks Michelle for tips on how to react if one gets attacked while sleeping on the ground. 

She also points out how crucial the “metal box” is. It is a guard with our arms that must be put to use in any situation in which one is being attacked.

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“You must move quickly in all situations” said Michelle. “You must stay close. When you decide to go in, you have to get back out quickly.”

When fighting back, Michelle says it is important to allow your strike to go further than just hitting someone. To act as though you are aiming for something beyond them so your hits and swings are much more powerful.

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“There is a lot of wavelength movement,” said Michelle. “That is used as a particular point of power release for a strike.”

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Michelle teaches the women how to react when being attacked by a weapon and the different hand techniques one can use.

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“I love being a woman and what we stand for,” said Michelle. “I think we have forgotten who we are. I love the idea of being able to express who we are because we are powerful.”

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Michelle says it is important to learn how to forgive ourselves when things happen to us. We need to learn to not blame ourselves and let things go.  

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“As we learn to love and accept ourselves we are able to love and accept others” said Michelle.

Michelle says to silence all the voices because through this silence comes the physical power one has within.

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“You are capable of anything!” said Michelle.

I don’t re-blog the work of others very often, but this photo story by Lauren Valencia, done as part of our Documentary Photojournalism project on homelessness, is worth sharing.

“Photography for me is not looking, it’s feeling. If you can’t feel what you’re looking at, then you’re never going to get others to feel anything when they look at your pictures.”

* Don McCullin

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Terry’s fears were justified. He is back in jail, while Amy worries that an old warrant from 1994 has been discovered and may soon be used to pick her up too…