RVANews

Forgotten Faces: Robert and Keith

Ryan Phillips — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:00:54 +0000

Editor's note: This feature is the latest in a series we'll be running over the next several weeks. To learn more about how the project started, check out the introductory post here. And please come back here regularly to see more.

"I'm homeless, not worthless."

Robert is one of the good ones. I met him under an overpass on a very hot day after my wife and I were headed back from the watermelon festival in Carytown. His hair is dirty and his smile is broken, but he's in very high spirits.

I've seen Robert before in my travels, but this is the first time I've had the chance to speak with him. I usually see him in the afternoons and I always nod and wave, always getting the same response back from him: a big smile and a wave.

"Even if they don't give you any change, a smile or a nod is just as important to me. It makes you feel good knowing someone notices you."

Robert is an electrician by trade. For 14 months, he said he lived with a family doing general chores, taking care of the dogs and cats, tending to the lawn, and doing other tasks around the house.

"I stayed in their garage for a little over a year until one day they told me I needed to leave. All of a sudden I was out on the street again. After I left, I went and hiked the Appalachian trail. Compared to that, Richmond is heaven. When you're on the trail, you have no shelter and no guarantee of food. At least out here, I know where to go to get the things I need."

As I said before, Robert is a very optimistic person, always smiling and laughing. We carried on for a good 90 minutes about life and general things. We made jokes and laughed together like we were old friends... and now we are.

We talked a lot about my project. He was interested to know how it was going and asked me if I was making any progress. I told him I expected the project to be published on here on RVANews and that I was excited about how many people would finally be able to see that the homeless are just like everyone else. He applauded me for making the effort to bridge the gap and bring awareness to something that plagues a lot of people.

He told me that he volunteers at a local church twice a month.

"You have to give back. You HAVE to. It's the only way any of us are going to get out of this situation. You get back what you put into something. I want you to put this in your article: I'm homeless, not worthless."

***

"Come stay out here with me for a couple of days, you'll leave here humble."

Keith is hilarious. We talked for what seemed like hours about everything you can think of. He is a retired Marine who fought in Vietnam... although, of everything we did talk about, we did not talk about his time in the service. He didn't bring it up, and I didn't ask. Besides, he was too busy laughing at how funny life is or carrying on about something else to even bother talking about something as horrible as war.

"I've been homeless for 5 years. I had credit issues and they landed me here. Now I make the best of things."

"Are you from Virginia?"

"No, I'm from Jersey but when I hit the streets, I moved here."

We talked about the homeless shelters in Richmond, and I asked him if he stayed at any of them.

"No they only let you 'stay' there for about 30 days and then they send you on your way to fend for yourself."

Keith says homelessness is a problem that CAN be solved, but first we, America (Richmond), have to let go of this NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) mentality that we hold onto. He said that people, in general, don't necessarily care about the homeless because it's something they can turn away from and not have to deal with.

"So it's an out of sight out of mind sorta thing?"

"Exactly."

"Sometimes I think these shelters see us more like numbers than people.... People tell you to get a job like it's that easy. How many employers do you know that are hiring right now? Because I don't know any and I look everyday. Right now I'm doing what I can to survive and right now it's standing on that corner with a sign. Until something better comes along, that's what I have to do and I'm not ashamed."

We talked about family...

"Really no one is going to look out for us except one another. We form bonds out here like a family. We stick up for each other and help one another out. Who else is going to?"

Before I left, I told him I would stop and say "hey" whenever he was out there. I think he appreciated that a lot because he said "Yeah, come on back." Then I offered him a couple bucks for some water but he humbly refused it.

I recently saw Robert in a convenience store and asked him how he was doing. He tells me he's doing really great. I also asked him about Keith and he told me that some people he knew pitched in and bought him a bus ticket to Delaware and that he left about a month ago. I hope he made it there Ok.

Previous installments

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Forgotten Faces: Brooke, Jamie, and Ruffy

Ryan Phillips — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:00:40 +0000

This is Brooke. I met her, Jamie, and Ruffy one rainy day in July while they were panhandling at a Target store in Richmond. I walked up with a few dollars and asked to photograph them. When they saw the money, it wasn't a hard decision for them. Brooke quickly said "Yes," and I began photographing, all the while, asking questions about their life and their travels.

"I'm from St. Petersburg, Florida, but I'm traveling to Chicago." She never told me why.

Brooke was a rather sweet girl with a big smile she wasn't afraid to show. I think she was happy just to be getting some attention from a stranger.

"I stopped hitch-hiking after some guy picked me up, drove me to a hotel, and tried to rape me. I ran away and decided never to hitch rides again."

Jamie was a stitch. I could tell he wanted me to think he was a big tough guy, but I knew he wasn't as tough as he would have liked everyone to think. Occasionally, I would catch him smiling and raise my camera to photograph him only to find that he had erased the boyish grin from his face, replacing it with the look you see in this photo.

"I'm from South Carolina but I'm going to New York to live with some family." I hope he made it there ok.

It had been raining about two minutes before I took this shot. I felt as though it added to the reality of the situation that these people have to live with from day to day.

Ruffy travels with Jamie and likes the cheap dog treats, even though people typically only donate the expensive stuff.

"She doesn't like the expensive treats, but since that's all people are giving me for her, that's what she eats."

I like to think Ruffy isn't as sad as she looks in these photos. I can't stand to think that she's unhappy... it breaks my heart.

It started raining again as I was leaving. Brooke's sign began to fall apart from being soaked with rain water, but she just kept holding it up, gripping it like it was the only thing she had left in this world - to let it go would mean giving up her voice.

As I was driving home one day in September, I noticed a girl sitting with two guys and two dogs and it reminded me of Brooke. I sat there at the stop light looking at her and I noticed she had a tattoo on her right arm of what looked like flowers and water. Then I realized... it was Brooke! I suppose Jamie split with Ruffy, and Brooke decided to stay in Richmond for a while longer. I'm glad she was with people; I felt better knowing she had "family."

Previous installments

Jerome

Forgotten Faces: Jerome

Ryan Phillips — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:00:06 +0000

Editor's note: This feature is the first in a series we'll be running over the next several weeks. Below you'll find an introduction to the project from its creator, as well as the first installment. Please check back regularly for more.

The idea for this project was an accident. It all started in early May of 2008 when I literally tripped over Jerome, the first man in this series of photos. After speaking with him for an hour, I knew I had to photograph the down and out of Richmond.

Imagine one day you find yourself destitute, alone, and without. Imagine for a moment that you have no job or transportation, no roof over your head, and no money with which to buy food. The only things you have are your thoughts and the clothes on your back. Your clothes are old and dirty and you have not showered in days. Now imagine experiencing that feeling every day of your life... feels pretty hopeless doesn't it? It's as if no one knows you or cares to know you. You are alone in this world with nothing to fall back on. This is the horrible reality of many people... people that can't just look the other way and hide from a terrible truth known as homelessness. The homeless have faces, feelings, dreams, and wants. They have needs and interests just like you or me. All they want is to be respected and remembered and with this series, I intend to make sure they are.

This is an ongoing project. It, by definition, will never be completed. The plan here is to use this gallery as a journal-style compilation of photos I capture on the streets depicting the homeless and their lifestyle (Some with stories and others without). The hope is to open more eyes to the horrible reality of homelessness. I see and know far too many people who have absolutely no regard for people in a lower social class. With this journal, I hope I can change some minds.

Jerome

I met Jerome on an early May morning around 7:00AM when I accidentally tripped over him. We struck up a conversation and he began telling me his story and how he came to live on the streets.

Jerome is a victim of identity theft and lost everything he had. His wife left him and he lost his job - he was soon forced to move out of his house due to unpaid bills and mortgage payments and with no where else to go, he moved to the streets where he says "life is hard."

Jerome had been homeless for 10 months when I met him, and he told me it was the hardest 10 months of his life.

"You're always watching your back and you never know what's going to happen next." This is a sad but true reality for the homeless - never knowing.

Jerome went on and on about life on the streets. He spoke to me as if his views were gospel...and who am I to question him? After all, 10 months he's lived out here, and 10 months he's experienced more pain and loneliness than I can imagine. He spoke with such conviction.

He also explained to me who to avoid in my travels. He told me about the man down the road that robbed passers by and the woman a few blocks over who lied about being homeless in order to trick others into giving her money.

"I bought these shoes right before I went homeless."

Eight months into his hardships, Jerome replaced these worn out old tennis shoes with some brand new boots that he bought using money he had collected from passers by.

"One night while I was sleeping someone stole my boots right out of my bag so I had to put my old tennis shoes back on and now I'm saving for some more boots."

I gave him all the change I had in my car - it was only a couple of dollars but he thanked me and then he gave me a big hug.

I have not seen Jerome in months. Every time I go downtown, I look for him and I have yet to see him since that day. I don't know if he moved on to another location or if he got back up on his feet but wherever he is, I hope he's doing well.