Senior Project: Homeless Heroes

Have you ever wished you could take a magnifying glass to someone’s life? Have you ever wished to be able to live for one day as someone else?

Wish granted.

Who would you choose: a movie star, an athlete, or a president? You would choose someone important; you would choose someone who has made a difference. Be it that difference is taking you into another reality for two hours or creating policies to hoist our country out of The Great Depression. You would want to be up close and personal with someone who has made a difference; you would choose a hero.

When we think of a hero, we see someone in a cape--someone we watched on television or read about in comic books when we were growing up. We think of a hero as someone who’s in the news all the time, or as someone we know by name.

The real heroes are the people we don’t know by name; they’re the invisible people fighting a war invisible to the rest of us; they’re on the street every day being ignored by people passing by; they’re on the street every day living some people’s worst nightmare; and that’s a hero. A hero is someone with strength. Imagine taking a magnifying glass to a real hero’s life, being up close and personal with a homeless person.

“[The police officers] told me I was going to cause an accident,” said Harvey, a local man in regards to why he was sitting on the curb instead of standing and waving in his usual spot. As many know, Harvey stands on the curb at the exit of the Raley’s at The Y parking lot waving and smiling at any car passing by; people never miss his Willy Nelson-esque braids.

“I asked [the officers] if I could just stand and smile, they said that would still cause an accident...if anything is going to cause an accident it’ll be how [recklessly] people drive in this parking lot,” said Harvey as he went into detail about his experience.

As his graying braids would tell, Harvey is an older man and has lived a long, full life. “I’ve been trying to get a job, but no one will hire me because of my age...if they would just give me a chance they would see I can do anything,” he said. Harvey said of his struggles trying to work up in Tahoe during the past years. Harvey discloses the challenges of living homeless in Tahoe, “It’s hard during the winters, it gets really cold. I’m thinking of going down to Carson to try to find work and stay out of the snow.” In recent weeks, Harvey has been missing from his usual corner in the Raley’s at The Y parking lot, and a smile has been missing from many drivers’ faces as they leave after buying groceries; Harvey has brightened the day of many shoppers and bank-goers with his heroic bravery and smile. Next time you’re shopping, look for Harvey, and, remember, have a Willy nice day.

Zoe Greco is a senior at South Tahoe High. This project was part of her Senior Photo Journalism project on homeless in South Lake Tahoe

Here is her opinion column to accompany the above:
Maybe we, as a society, do treat the homeless like heroes; we pay no attention to them until they do something wrong, then we place them under the scrutinous, watchful eye of the media; we smile as we walk by, but turn our heads and scurry past when one is in need. We refuse to take any accountability for the mess we made, and leave it up to them to clean it up. Society points the dirty finger of blame at these people for being homeless when they are not the ones to blame for not being able to work; people born with severe mental disorders are being released from institutions too soon, and are either not well enough to work or are turned down from jobs for their history. The onus does not fall on these people who are only victims of an unforgiving society. Thrusting the blame onto these individuals does not free ourselves from accountability, but only acts as an indicator of our country’s inability to deal with homelessness. Everyone sees homelessness as a problem, but no one sees it as their problem. It’s time to see homelessness as the arduous war it is.

It is time to put our egos and guilt aside and do something to make these people feel like a part of society. It is time to stop ostracizing them to the bus stations and Raley’s corner. It is time to look at homeless people like they deserve to be looked at: as people. Stop turning your heads or crossing the street to avoid feeling guilty. Stop rolling your windows up when you drive past a man holding a sign by Raley’s. Stop pretending homeless people aren't people.