Marc and Madhar
I met Marc and Madhar in front of a shelter on Sherbourne Street. Madhar is originally from India and spoke with a heavy accent. He mentioned an injury he sustained years ago that effects his ability to walk to this day. He used to be a truck driver. Marc shared a lot about his experiences struggling with homelessness and trauma. He lost his wife and daughter to a drunk driver and has PTSD from childhood abuse. He focused on the challenges faced by people trying to get their lives in order. Marc says he panhandles but does not steal. He has been off of drugs for two years, and yet he finds it very difficult to get out of poverty. He says that things like getting your stuff stollen and trying to take care of your basic needs, make it really hard to move up and get stable housing and work. He used to be a musician and would like to get back into music. It is hard when you don’t have an instrument, he says. As for the shelters there are good ones and bad ones and there are good people and bad people. Apparently the shelters could all do with more engagement to get clients to participate in activities together, but instead clients are generally left to their own devices. One interesting observation I was told is that it seems to someone like Marc that the lower paid people such as the janitors work the hardest while the ones sitting behind the desk seem to do little.