...thank you for your bravery in sharing this...on one of the coldest nights of 2002 i left an anniversary showing of alien and walked under the freeways in downtown chicago and saw the size of unhoused and tented life beneath the streets...my buddy wolf (https://cansafis.substack.com/p/the-coolest-truth) lived on the chicago streets for much of his life and i learned a lot from him, and my buddy drew who did the same (actually two drews but that is another story)...very appreciative for you being so open as to share these stories and your art with the world...homelessness is so present in my neighborhood and i have no clue of the solution or even the salve to help those who have never been there understand how close they are to the life there...
When I was a case manager I learned in a training how helpful storytelling was and narrative control was for people expieriencing homelessness, but I never applied to to myself! Yeah, the encampments here are so scary. My expierience is trivial in comparison..thanks for validating, this was a lot to share! I hope your friends are safe now.
So beautifully put Jeremy, the duality, your coming home to yourself, thank you for introducing me to the work ‘poetics of space’, just the name. I was just reading the book A Pattern Language, have you heard of? In it they describe public space as a sanctuary which someone should feel comfortable to fall asleep. In a village of safety, in a wilderness of belonging this would be so. Thank you for sharing and illuminating your experience of being unhoused, and for your courage, it’s a generosity. I loved reading about your attic project, wish I’d sent something!
Thanks so much for that. :’) I haven’t heard of that book!! It sounds like perfect research material for where this project is going. I’ll add it to my list.
Wow, thanks for sharing all of this! I think it makes your dollhouse project even richer. While I was reading it, I kept thinking of having a space in my home devoted to things I left behind, ways of being that were excellent teachers but I am happy to be complete with. I wondered about a little space in the dollhouse, that says to the chaos of homelessness, "hello! I see you, I remember you. Thank you for helping me get found." Beautiful, thought provoking piece!
Thanks Rebecca this is exactly the kind of conversations I’m hoping to generate! I feel like I’m the world we live in it’s hard to feel continuity of the self due to the pressures of daily life. I’m so glad to hear that this resonated with you
Yes, totally! I lived like a gypsy when I was in New York--from sublet to sublet for 7 years. I think I moved 13 times--all my things in two garbage bags. I have a small sense of what you were talking about, because I remember the stress of it, but for me, because there was choice involved, there was also freedom. I didn't have to buy furniture I would later have to get rid of. I missed all the trips to Ikea my friends took, and all those THINGS. I am very glad of that. Now I have a house I love, but I always feel like I could live just a little bit smaller, with a lot less things. Homes, to me, are magical places, but they can easily become filled up with detritus, and there was something nice about living in such a way that that couldn't happen.
Yes, so, so relatable. I have experienced the gamut of housing/housing insecurity spectrum, but mostly I was in a similar situation where i lived here and there at sublets throught the city. I was able to keep employment but things were tight and in those situations you always know that you're only one mishap or tragedy away from total destitution. So, I'm realizing now I need to name those expieriences and fully own how much they've shaped my self. So much to say on the topic, and I feel like a lot of people don't even realize they have trauma from this lack of security because it's just been accepted as a new normal in our generation.
“I find it difficult to frame these experiences in a way that acknowledges both the suffering and the chronic anxiety I experienced while maintaining a sense of dignity in the telling.”
I think you nailed it. Thank you for opening the door and inviting us in to read about this part of your life. This is why we tell our stories, right? To break down preconceptions and stereotypes, and encourage empathy not judgment. Beautiful, courageous writing.
Yes I often feel trapped in my low income old home ownership as an older person with all my stuff, my museum of self and think about house stuff a lot. how its kind of all damned if you do damned if you don't, a big scam (because owning a house is stressful and expensive and I fantasize about being able to live lighter) ---housing is a human right. this gave me a perspective of what a home can give, which I feel resentful and kind of trapped in my house. so its a lot of food for thought.
Thank you for sharing, China! I love the idea that a house is somewhat of a museum of the self, and I think this really highlights why the housing market /rental market forcing people to move so frequently is damaging to our sense of self.
Every time I move I feel weighed down by all of the things I own....but they start to feel like they're apart of you!
also I have some dollhouse furniture that I have been saving, from a dollhouse my grandmother made, she was a very loving cozy adventurous person too, and would love to send you a few pieces if you wanted. I was trying to read up on where you are at with your dollhouse project.
(I grew up moving almost every year, as my dad moved around for work. when I look back it seems bad to me that my parents didn't even wait til I was starting a new school year to move.)
...thank you for your bravery in sharing this...on one of the coldest nights of 2002 i left an anniversary showing of alien and walked under the freeways in downtown chicago and saw the size of unhoused and tented life beneath the streets...my buddy wolf (https://cansafis.substack.com/p/the-coolest-truth) lived on the chicago streets for much of his life and i learned a lot from him, and my buddy drew who did the same (actually two drews but that is another story)...very appreciative for you being so open as to share these stories and your art with the world...homelessness is so present in my neighborhood and i have no clue of the solution or even the salve to help those who have never been there understand how close they are to the life there...
When I was a case manager I learned in a training how helpful storytelling was and narrative control was for people expieriencing homelessness, but I never applied to to myself! Yeah, the encampments here are so scary. My expierience is trivial in comparison..thanks for validating, this was a lot to share! I hope your friends are safe now.
...it is really brave man...totally see you and appreciate you for sharing...feels king...
So beautifully put Jeremy, the duality, your coming home to yourself, thank you for introducing me to the work ‘poetics of space’, just the name. I was just reading the book A Pattern Language, have you heard of? In it they describe public space as a sanctuary which someone should feel comfortable to fall asleep. In a village of safety, in a wilderness of belonging this would be so. Thank you for sharing and illuminating your experience of being unhoused, and for your courage, it’s a generosity. I loved reading about your attic project, wish I’d sent something!
Thanks so much for that. :’) I haven’t heard of that book!! It sounds like perfect research material for where this project is going. I’ll add it to my list.
Funny how that works! Hope it brings more inspo and insight.
Wow, thanks for sharing all of this! I think it makes your dollhouse project even richer. While I was reading it, I kept thinking of having a space in my home devoted to things I left behind, ways of being that were excellent teachers but I am happy to be complete with. I wondered about a little space in the dollhouse, that says to the chaos of homelessness, "hello! I see you, I remember you. Thank you for helping me get found." Beautiful, thought provoking piece!
Thanks Rebecca this is exactly the kind of conversations I’m hoping to generate! I feel like I’m the world we live in it’s hard to feel continuity of the self due to the pressures of daily life. I’m so glad to hear that this resonated with you
Yes, totally! I lived like a gypsy when I was in New York--from sublet to sublet for 7 years. I think I moved 13 times--all my things in two garbage bags. I have a small sense of what you were talking about, because I remember the stress of it, but for me, because there was choice involved, there was also freedom. I didn't have to buy furniture I would later have to get rid of. I missed all the trips to Ikea my friends took, and all those THINGS. I am very glad of that. Now I have a house I love, but I always feel like I could live just a little bit smaller, with a lot less things. Homes, to me, are magical places, but they can easily become filled up with detritus, and there was something nice about living in such a way that that couldn't happen.
Yes, so, so relatable. I have experienced the gamut of housing/housing insecurity spectrum, but mostly I was in a similar situation where i lived here and there at sublets throught the city. I was able to keep employment but things were tight and in those situations you always know that you're only one mishap or tragedy away from total destitution. So, I'm realizing now I need to name those expieriences and fully own how much they've shaped my self. So much to say on the topic, and I feel like a lot of people don't even realize they have trauma from this lack of security because it's just been accepted as a new normal in our generation.
“I find it difficult to frame these experiences in a way that acknowledges both the suffering and the chronic anxiety I experienced while maintaining a sense of dignity in the telling.”
I think you nailed it. Thank you for opening the door and inviting us in to read about this part of your life. This is why we tell our stories, right? To break down preconceptions and stereotypes, and encourage empathy not judgment. Beautiful, courageous writing.
I appreciate you sharing this so much and look forward to reading more !
Yes I often feel trapped in my low income old home ownership as an older person with all my stuff, my museum of self and think about house stuff a lot. how its kind of all damned if you do damned if you don't, a big scam (because owning a house is stressful and expensive and I fantasize about being able to live lighter) ---housing is a human right. this gave me a perspective of what a home can give, which I feel resentful and kind of trapped in my house. so its a lot of food for thought.
Thank you for sharing, China! I love the idea that a house is somewhat of a museum of the self, and I think this really highlights why the housing market /rental market forcing people to move so frequently is damaging to our sense of self.
Every time I move I feel weighed down by all of the things I own....but they start to feel like they're apart of you!
also I have some dollhouse furniture that I have been saving, from a dollhouse my grandmother made, she was a very loving cozy adventurous person too, and would love to send you a few pieces if you wanted. I was trying to read up on where you are at with your dollhouse project.
(I grew up moving almost every year, as my dad moved around for work. when I look back it seems bad to me that my parents didn't even wait til I was starting a new school year to move.)
P.S. I love your little spinning wheel a lot.