I am interviewing one homeless person a day for Lent, so I suppose you can say that I’m surrendering my ignorance for this season. I have many assumptions about the people I regularly see on the streets that allow me justify ignoring them as they ask for help. I want to see just how many of these assumptions are true.
I met Nicky on the corner of 50th and Madison, right outside a Starbucks, in the middle of some of the most expensive real estate in the world and amongst some of the highest paid people in the world.
Q: Where are you from?
A: I was born in California but I grew up in Oregon.
Q: How long have you been here?
A: I’ve been in New York for twelve years. I came with my dad, who is also homeless.
Q: How often do you see him?
A: Once a week. He lives out of his van, downtown, near Tomkins Square Park.
Q: How did you become homeless?
A: We were squatting in a building that became a co-op so we had to leave.
Q: What is the best thing that happened to you this week?
The birds landed on me. (When I met her she was feeding the pigeons)
Q: If you could wish for anything, what would it be?
Stability. Permanent housing. I’m working with Breaking Ground to get that addressed.
Q: What do you want people to know about you?
That, no matter what, I try to have a positive attitude. There’s way more nice people than there are mean people.
This last answer was, frankly, a bit embarrassing to hear. I’d seen her before and I’d never once even looked her in the eye or given her money. I didn’t ask her what group she’d put me in.