Time to update...
Another semester is winding down. I've signed up for both summer and fall semesters. By this time next year, I'll have my BA in journalism. This will be both a relief and a little nerve-rattling.
I found out yesterday that a short story of mine won second place in a short fiction contest. My first--very first!!!--money as a writer. YAY!!! The story is about a homeless couple. When I wrote it last year, St. Petersburg had a tent city for the city's homeless.
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sptimes/access/1231233551.html?dids=1231233551:1231233551&FMT=FT&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Mar+12%2C+2007&author=DEMORRIS+A.+LEE&pub=St.+Petersburg+Times&edition=&startpage=1.B&desc=Church+offers+space+for+60+homeless+to+camp
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sptimes/access/1249909061.html?dids=1249909061:1249909061&FMT=FT&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Apr+4%2C+2007&author=ABHI+RAGHUNATHAN&pub=St.+Petersburg+Times&edition=&startpage=9&desc=SLASHING+OF+TENTS+WAS+LEGAL%2C+POLICE+REPORT+SAYS
Why write about a story about a homeless couple? Aren't all homeless yucky, disgusting drunks? Well, no. True, there are enough people living on the streets who have: 1) alcohol and/or other drug problems, 2) mental health issues, or 3) just plain unmotivated to justify the stereotypes.
Then there are the other reasons.
According to the National Coalition for the Homeless's website (www.nationalhomeless.org/publications/facts/domestic.pdf), one in three homeless women in Minnesota was homeless because of domestic violence. Others become homeless because of rising housing costs, while minimum wage is creeping up slowly.
Add to that the fact that once someone is on the street, it is difficult to get off the street. If one looses a job, then housing, how does one get a house without a job, a job without a phone number and/or address?
The punchline is this: you never know why someone is on the streets just by a glance.
That, folks, is my rant for the day.
Another semester is winding down. I've signed up for both summer and fall semesters. By this time next year, I'll have my BA in journalism. This will be both a relief and a little nerve-rattling.
I found out yesterday that a short story of mine won second place in a short fiction contest. My first--very first!!!--money as a writer. YAY!!! The story is about a homeless couple. When I wrote it last year, St. Petersburg had a tent city for the city's homeless.
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sptimes/access/1231233551.html?dids=1231233551:1231233551&FMT=FT&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Mar+12%2C+2007&author=DEMORRIS+A.+LEE&pub=St.+Petersburg+Times&edition=&startpage=1.B&desc=Church+offers+space+for+60+homeless+to+camp
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sptimes/access/1249909061.html?dids=1249909061:1249909061&FMT=FT&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Apr+4%2C+2007&author=ABHI+RAGHUNATHAN&pub=St.+Petersburg+Times&edition=&startpage=9&desc=SLASHING+OF+TENTS+WAS+LEGAL%2C+POLICE+REPORT+SAYS
Why write about a story about a homeless couple? Aren't all homeless yucky, disgusting drunks? Well, no. True, there are enough people living on the streets who have: 1) alcohol and/or other drug problems, 2) mental health issues, or 3) just plain unmotivated to justify the stereotypes.
Then there are the other reasons.
According to the National Coalition for the Homeless's website (www.nationalhomeless.org/publications/facts/domestic.pdf), one in three homeless women in Minnesota was homeless because of domestic violence. Others become homeless because of rising housing costs, while minimum wage is creeping up slowly.
Add to that the fact that once someone is on the street, it is difficult to get off the street. If one looses a job, then housing, how does one get a house without a job, a job without a phone number and/or address?
The punchline is this: you never know why someone is on the streets just by a glance.
That, folks, is my rant for the day.
Labels: homelessness; writing
posted by feminist writer - Robin Shwedo at 9:56 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home