The Two Inaugurations: Part 2
Tommy Christopher
Contributor
Posted:
01/19/09
Click here for Part 1
Once we arrived at the homeless shelter, Paula invited me in to take some pictures. When we went in, the shelter
staff searched her and wanded her with a metal detector. The staff said that I couldn't take pictures or come into the shelter, which I had figured might be the case.
Instead, Paula and I stood outside the shelter talking for awhile, until she introduced me to Kenny. Kenny is a 52 year-old man who has been homeless for 7 years now. Before that, he had been a freelance photographer, and a laborer. He told me that his longtime girlfriend had died, and like Paula, he had a tough time with the grief and turned to the bottle. He says he's put that behind him, with the Lord's help. He has trouble finding work now, with the shelter as his address, and mainly lives on social security.
I asked him what he thought about Barack Obama, and what he's expecting. Here's what he said: (Please excuse the video. The lighting was very poor, and I had to shoot with my phone because my video camera ran out of juice)
Kenny introduced me to Tanonnah Tyson. She's a Desert Storm veteran who served 6 years in the army.
She didn't want to tell me why she was homeless at first, and I didn't press her. What she did tell me surprised me. Tanonnah works 40 hours a week, and still, she lives in a homeless shelter. She told me that about 20 of the 94 women at this shelter have jobs that don't pay them enough to get them out of the shelter.
Eventually, she shared with me that the reason she became homeless was to escape from domestic violence. She was beaten very badly by her boyfriend.
Here's some of what else she told me, including what she expects of Barack Obama:
The most remarkable thing about Tanonnah was that the entire time I spoke to her, she never once stopped smiling, a broad, genuine smile.
When we finished talking, I looked for Paula to say goodbye, but she had gone. I asked some of the other women to tell her I had said good-bye.
As I walked back uptown, my mind was racing. I thought about the hierarchy of the homeless that I had observed that night. Tanonnah told me that the shelter is open 7pm to 7am, and that everyone had to leave at 7am carrying all of their belongings. She, and the 20 or so other women who have jobs, don't have to do this.
Then, there was Paula, whose descent into homelessness was sealed by the mundane fact that her car broke down. She doesn't get to leave her stuff at the shelter.
Then, I thought about the homeless I'd seen around DC sleeping on the sidewalk. You can tell by looking at them that they're different from the shelter people. I wondered how any of them would make it through a cold night like that night.
I returned to my hotel fairly exhausted from all of the walking. My intention was to begin writing this story, then call some friends to get together.
Before I went in, I decided to have a cigarette. A fellow smoker approached, and we struck up a convers
ation. His name was Eric, and he was the producer for most of the balls in town. He told me Chaka Khan was upstairs at the Illinois Pre-Inaugural Ball.
I didn't have any tickets, just my AOL press card, but I sailed right on in without a second look.
Part 3 coming soon
Follow all our inauguration coverage on
Voices Raised in Opposition
Send Us Your Pictures
Cheney to Attend Inauguration in Wheelchair
Once we arrived at the homeless shelter, Paula invited me in to take some pictures. When we went in, the shelter
staff searched her and wanded her with a metal detector. The staff said that I couldn't take pictures or come into the shelter, which I had figured might be the case.Instead, Paula and I stood outside the shelter talking for awhile, until she introduced me to Kenny. Kenny is a 52 year-old man who has been homeless for 7 years now. Before that, he had been a freelance photographer, and a laborer. He told me that his longtime girlfriend had died, and like Paula, he had a tough time with the grief and turned to the bottle. He says he's put that behind him, with the Lord's help. He has trouble finding work now, with the shelter as his address, and mainly lives on social security.
I asked him what he thought about Barack Obama, and what he's expecting. Here's what he said: (Please excuse the video. The lighting was very poor, and I had to shoot with my phone because my video camera ran out of juice)
Kenny introduced me to Tanonnah Tyson. She's a Desert Storm veteran who served 6 years in the army.
She didn't want to tell me why she was homeless at first, and I didn't press her. What she did tell me surprised me. Tanonnah works 40 hours a week, and still, she lives in a homeless shelter. She told me that about 20 of the 94 women at this shelter have jobs that don't pay them enough to get them out of the shelter.
Eventually, she shared with me that the reason she became homeless was to escape from domestic violence. She was beaten very badly by her boyfriend.
Here's some of what else she told me, including what she expects of Barack Obama:
The most remarkable thing about Tanonnah was that the entire time I spoke to her, she never once stopped smiling, a broad, genuine smile.
When we finished talking, I looked for Paula to say goodbye, but she had gone. I asked some of the other women to tell her I had said good-bye.
As I walked back uptown, my mind was racing. I thought about the hierarchy of the homeless that I had observed that night. Tanonnah told me that the shelter is open 7pm to 7am, and that everyone had to leave at 7am carrying all of their belongings. She, and the 20 or so other women who have jobs, don't have to do this.
Then, there was Paula, whose descent into homelessness was sealed by the mundane fact that her car broke down. She doesn't get to leave her stuff at the shelter.
Then, I thought about the homeless I'd seen around DC sleeping on the sidewalk. You can tell by looking at them that they're different from the shelter people. I wondered how any of them would make it through a cold night like that night.
I returned to my hotel fairly exhausted from all of the walking. My intention was to begin writing this story, then call some friends to get together.
Before I went in, I decided to have a cigarette. A fellow smoker approached, and we struck up a convers
ation. His name was Eric, and he was the producer for most of the balls in town. He told me Chaka Khan was upstairs at the Illinois Pre-Inaugural Ball.I didn't have any tickets, just my AOL press card, but I sailed right on in without a second look.
Part 3 coming soon
Follow all our inauguration coverage on
Voices Raised in Opposition
Send Us Your Pictures
Cheney to Attend Inauguration in Wheelchair
Tommy on: BlogTalkRadio I Digg! I Facebook I Twitter