True Homeless Stories
The Story of Brenda, 62
Published: June 7, 2009
The light turns red and I cross Juniper Street, entering the mouth of a large stone archway that opens into City Hall. A dazed cadre of city officials shuffle out of the tunnel and onto Market Street. A small, older lady catches my eye. She’s sitting on the bottom of a staircase to my left, asking people if they have any spare change. She repeats it over and over again. “Excuse me, do you have any spare change?” she pleads in a barely audible voice. I stop and watch for a moment.
I wait for a moment and walk over. “Sir, could you spare some change?” I sit down and dig through the top pouch of my backpack. I give her a few dollars in change. I ask her if she’s hungry, if she wants to get a bagel and coffee.
We sit down in the coffee shop, the spacious window overlooking City Hall. She seems weak, so I allow her eat in silence.
Brenda grew up in Philadelphia in a “mixed neighborhood.” She’s very proud of that. There were people of Polish, Italian and Jewish descent, she tells me. She had a good childhood. She remembers going to dances and parties and having a boyfriend. These days, she tells me, she prays a lot.
She’s been sleeping outside for about three years now, usually underground in the subway. She lost her job as a maintenance worker and hasn’t been able to find employment since. I ask her what it is that’s keeping her from finding a job, and the problem is that she doesn’t have an ID card. It’s a common theme among the homeless that I’ve spoken with in Philadelphia. They don’t have an ID because they either don’t know where to get one, or if they do, they don’t have the money or another form of identification to get a new ID. In her case, she knows where to go, but has neither the money nor the birth certificate or social security card required to obtain a new ID.
I ask her what she would ask the mayor if she had the opportunity. “I would tell him give me a job, I want to work and be self-supporting. I do not want to be on the streets of Philly. I was born and raised in Philly. I know Philly. I know how the people are, how they think and everything. I want a job.”
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heyy im doing reaserch on a project for english
i am in year 8 and i think that they should have diffrent rules for homeless people i pray to god that this will happen.of eschews
its soooo annoying how people can't get jobs its terrible
his really hurts me and i would like to make a change
Tragic story, I live in Dublin and working on a piece about homelessness, it's shocking that it can go on in developed countries. And as for Kate's comments, 'illegals are trying to leave a life of poverty, to a land supposedly full of opportunity. What would she do?
It is ridiculous how hard it is for them to get a job.. I understand both sides.. We don't want it to be "easy" because it would be even easier for illegals to get jobs. But this really breaks my heart..