I created this project during Spring term, 2003 for two classes: Literary Genres and Multicultural Literature.
I used to think I was poor. I used to think I was poor until last winter a friend and I spend a night on the streets of Portland- just one night- to see what street life really felt like. We didn't sleep a wink. During the night we wandered up and down down-town to keep warm and watched dozens of men and women watching us like foreigners from their make-shift shelters. For a while we sat outside "The Quest", a popular dance club, and watched rich kids enjoying their parents money. And just two blocks away we watched the doors of the Portland Rescue Mission and wished we had the nerve to walk in and ask for a hot meal and a bed. But we saved that for the real homeless.
We stayed cold, wet and hungry until the sun finally rose and we retreated back to our luxurious world of hot showers, soft beds, food, microwaves, television and, most importantly, safety and shelter.
Needless to say, I have looked at homelessness in a different light ever since. What has stuck in my heart the most about that night is the realization I came to about the courage and perseverance I saw in the homeless. I used to think they were the weak, the worthless and the stupid of our country who, for one reason or another, couldn't keep their shit together. I could not last a week on the streets and many of the people we watched that night have been homeless for months, years even. I see now they aren't weak and worthless, they are survivors. They are not stupid, they are street-smart. And this is why I chose to do this project. I admire them, in a way, and I wish to bring to light a few stories and histories so that others-especially young students like myself- can see and understand the hearts and souls behind those dirty rags and calloused faces so often overlooked on the streets.
URL of this page:
http://www.cocc.edu/wr316ca/adaml/oralintroduction.htm
For technical problems with this web, contact
webhelp@cocc.edu
Contact: lapierra@onid.orst.edu
© 2003, Adam Lapierre
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