Welcome to “Who’s Out There”

The three most recent interviews include photos. They are Mick and Tucson, Joe B, and Kevin.

This blog is about talking with people living in the streets – and, actually, it’s about listening.

So far it’s with people in Monterey, California, with one person in San Francisco.

This started as a project in a course in which each student takes on something that they say will be a contribution to their community. The project is centered around the idea that in our current economy, people disappear – to the streets. Suze Ormond noted that when people lose jobs and can’t make their mortgage payments and then lose their homes – they go to the bottom. They can’t get loans, can’t get credit cards, lose their FICA ratings, etc. Some employers are asking for a credit report and a person’s FICA rating when one applies for a job.

We all encounter such people – holding cardboard signs, begging for a buck or for food.

Who are they?

(An edit – I’ve changed a couple of people’s real names to names of Greek gods and goddesses, after discovering that I had put a person in peril by posting his name and information. I intend this to be an interesting and safe place. Let me know if I’ve crossed a line, and I’ll take down the post immediately.  -Vaughn)

I propose we find out – that we talk with them. Find out who they are, where they came from, what happened, and what they care about. So far, I’ve ‘interviewed’ more than a dozen people and have met many of their friends. The experience has been extremely moving, rewarding, and revealing – revealing a presence of humanity and community network I would never have guessed existed. My friend, Joyce, interviewed Joe B., thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and came away thoroughly inspired.

And to my surprise, I’m discovering more about who I am – perhaps the real reason I’m doing this?

Enjoy.

Vaughn McIlrath

A Woman with Dogs - Franco Folini, San Francisco, 2006