by Kirby Lindsay, posted 16 August 2013
Fremont-based architect, Rex Hohlbein, began a Facebook photo-journal in 2011, called ‘Homeless In Seattle.’ On the site, he’s shared photos as well as anecdotes, updates and the thoughts of people struggling to survive on the streets, in Fremont and around Seattle. Over time, “there have been lots of volunteers,” Hohlbein also acknowledged, as neighbors, friends and complete strangers have stepped forward to host fundraisers, hold educational/entertaining events and share news of life on the street.
‘Homeless In Seattle’ has sparked such interest that, “there has been a push to become a non-profit,” Hohlbein said. A group has formed, and begun the paperwork process, to launch a 501(c)3 non-profit called ‘Facing Homelessness’. The new name will, “make it be more of a universal concern,” he explained, “It is a universal issue.”
Yet, ‘Homeless In Seattle’ will continue to share stories, and share with over 5,000 followers – homeless or not – the message that people living on the streets are people. The site has even started a new initiative, called ‘Just Say Hello.’ “The Homeless feel unseen, invisible,” Hohlbien observed, “pretty quickly, you lose self-esteem.” This initiative is, “asking the general public to acknowledge their existence by saying ‘hello,’” he said. “It’s a simple thing to say hello.”
A Personal Evolution
“In the very beginning it was an emotional response to the negative reaction to homelessness,” Hohlbein explained about his photo-journal. With ‘Homeless In Seattle,’ he wanted to show the beauty of the homeless people he met, like those he encountered around his West Fremont office, along the Lake Washington Ship Canal. “We all have our dark side, and our light side,” he observed, “people in homes always get to put their best foot forward.”
The Homeless have no shelter in which to live their lives, nor ways to disguise or safeguard their problems and difficulties. They live their lives out-in-the-open, with stereotypes pressed upon them. “You get to talk to them,” Hohlbein said, “and the stereotype is shattered. I’ve met, easily, hundreds,” he said, and he’s gotten to know the detours that lead to the streets – emotional problems, mental illness, divorce, substance abuse, sudden hardship, job loss, etc. “They all need our love and compassion,” he said.
‘Love’ comes up a lot while talking with Hohlbein, and while exploring the ‘Homeless In Seattle’ site. “Put love into the equation,” Hohlbien suggested, “trust in people, and everyone starts asking themselves about what they are doing.” He’s seen people, once homeless, turn their lives around on their own after encountering love and acceptance from strangers.
Hohlbein takes no credit for ‘helping’ or ‘fixing’ homelessness. “I told my wife, when I started, I can’t expect any change,” he said. He promised that he would not get dragged into a dialogue about how this happened, or what had to be done to help. Hohlbein does not try to figure out the path away from homelessness, or fix it – or fix the people he meets. “I’m not qualified,” he stated, several times. “There are lots of people already working on it. Good, qualified people,” he observed, “I’m not getting involved in the why’s.”
A ‘Paradigm Shift’?
“For lots of people, their hearts go out,” to the Homeless, for their suffering, “but for most, it is a tidal wave. It’s just too much.” Hohlbein doesn’t advocate that people shatter their boundaries, or put themselves in unsafe situations. He does encourage people to see the beauty of the people around them, to build up their empathy, and to “start their own dialogue.”
“We are hoping to create a paradigm shift,” he said about the ‘Just Say Hello’ initiative, “it’s okay for children, to teach them not to talk to strangers, but as adults, we can.” Hohlbein acknowledged, “I don’t stop and talk to every person who is homeless.” He’s had a negative experience, but he’s also discovered an evolution taking place within himself. “It hasn’t changed my view of the world,” he said, “but it has changed my view of how much suffering is going on right under our noses, and how much we are avoiding it.”
Encouraging Empathy
“There is a community forming, on-line, of like-minded people trying to lead with their empathy,” Hohlbein explained. Encouraging empathy, and an awareness of the others around us, is important to him. Our lives have become more about the theory of others – through our screens – than the reality of humanity, and the “base human experience,” as he called it.
“As with any negative stereotype,” Hohlbein encouraged, “try to fight through it.” With his photo-journal, and the snippets of stories shared, on ‘Homeless In Seattle,’ Hohlbein may have tapped into something even more universal. “Everyone is beautiful,” he said, and that can include anyone tossed into a stereotype.
Yet, ‘Homeless In Seattle,’ and ‘Facing Homelessness’, gives us the beauty here in our community, “all talking about something that is very emotional, and very real.”
Fremont has a reputation as a friendly place, but now might be the time, Fremonsters, that we extend that friendliness one step further – and ‘Just Say Hello’.
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©2013 Kirby Lindsay. This column is protected by intellectual property laws, including U.S. copyright laws. Reproduction, adaptation or distribution without permission is prohibited.