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582,462 people were unhoused or sleeping outside in 2023 according to the most recent HUD count, and I was one of them for 60 days.
On Wednesday 5 July, 2023, I left Illinois for a camping trip in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri along the Current River. I did not make it back to Illinois, but I did try the egg rolls...
I chose, instead, to be dropped of in St.-Louis, MO in front of the Gelateria Coffee Co. on South Grand Blvd in the city's Tower Grove neighborhood. The result is an incredible story with 33+ hours of footage (and counting), a little more than 2,500+ photographs (...and counting), and 32,000 words (also, still counting) to the story of what wasn't caught on camera.
Create New Timeline
The interesting detail to this experience is the condemnation and judgment I've received for one of the most powerful choice's I have ever made in my entire 35 years of living.
I chose something most Americans, most people, are terrified of: be homeless. Most of what each of us do to contribute to society is to stave off that very state of being. I leapt into it head first with a smile on my face and love in my heart knowing, for some strange and even divine reason, that the result of my choice would be the stepping stone to me figuring out who I am, what it is I am able to contribute, and what it is I want to contribute–not what is expected of me.
Now, with access to semi-stable living and the space to safely reflect on the series of events and choices in my life that lead me to this leap, it's time to start coming down off a few fences I have been sitting on.
I have lived the extremes of life. By the time I was 24, I was making six figures at one start-up while co-founding my own with a group of four peers. At 34, I was sleeping outside in a park.
There's value in unwrapping that juxtaposition for me to heal, re-integrate, and get back to being who I am.
The Footage
I began capturing video in June of 2023 and put my camera down January 2024 to begin a deep rest and integration of the experience in order to begin re-integrating into society.
In March of 2024, I began a new formal review of the footage behind the scenes to have the project blow up in my face when DaVinci Resolve (my video editor of choice) and my back-ups were corrupted after I made a hasty move and unplugged a drive I ought not to have at an inopportune moment.
I was set to give up and move on in that moment, but then an idea of how to share what I am working on took seed, and the project took on a new light.
There are 11, 12 if you count me (which I often do not), primary subjects in the story, and some have some loose ends that I would very much like to tie up.
1. Rachel Witt - The Executive Director of the South Grand Blvd Community Improvement District caught in the dilemma of her office's prerogative and the general lack of resources and means to take care of everyone.
2. Elijah "Clarence Hines" Junior - An artist sleeping outside amidst a war with his family of origin, especially his father: A Pastor and former St.-Louis Metro Police Sergeant. He also provides some of the music for the project.
3. Prince Hollywood – A 25 year old kid struggling with alcohol and a feud with his family of origin.
4. Brad Romeo Hodge - A filmmaker and producer turned mentor to me while I was navigating my way through sleeping outside.
5. The Vanilla Beans Basement Performance in St.-Louis - An opportunity presented to me because I kept showing up with my camera.
6. Gelateria Coffee Co. - My "home" office for the duration of my stay in St.-Louis
7. Da Terra Meiga's Performance @ Sister Bar in Albuquerque - My first night out in normal clothes with a bed to go home to turns into an opportunity to catch one powerful performance.
8. Katie Neely & Glue.news - The human being that helped me get from A to B with a mission to re-shape community and journalism.
9. CNM & Ingenuity's Deep Dive - The experience that took me from who I thought I was into the process of understanding who I actually am. Oh, and Artificial Intelligence makes an appearance.
10. The Good Shepherd Center - The Center and the Men that took me in and reminded me that there is nothing wrong with taking your life back, no matter who it might inconvenience. An interesting cross section where spirituality and religion come cross with one another.
11. And Lesbian Earth talks Grief - A special and intimate conversation on Grief, and how its steps to processing it are evolving as we evolve.
Diving Deep
Part of this experience included a $10,000 grant to attend Central New Mexico Community College & Ingenuity's Deep Dive–A technical training and portfolio program.
Entering into Deep Dive, I had 11 hours, 58 Minutes, and 28 seconds of footage. I used that footage to generate four portfolio pieces to graduate the program. These projects are a sampling of what is encompassed in the footage as well as examples of my ability to edit and tell a story.
No. 0 Prelude - 369 to ABQ
The middle point between 40 days outside in St.-Louis and 40 days rest in the desert.
No. 1 - July 10, 11, & 12
A look back on the first three days outside and how I got the ball moving to get the hell out of the situation I was in.
No. 2 - A Girl & Her App
A glimpse of the first 40 days inside and an introduction to Katie Neely, the friend who helped me get from St.-Louis to Albuquerque and connected me with Deep Dive.
No. 3 - Da Terra Meiga @ Sister Bar
The incredible performance I captured on Thursday 31 August 2023–my first night out since getting inside.
Usage of Funds
The remaining portion of the budget goes to a couple of big ticket items, like a new computer dedicated to editing footage, and a new camera to make use of for the rest of this production and for future productions. The remaining portion is for travel to and fro Albuquerque back to St.-Louis to conduct follow up interviews and capture what was missed while I was in St.-Louis the first time.
Additionally, I am pledging a minimum of 3% raised to the National Low Income Housing Coalition. An organization that takes a housing first approach to policy.
Organizer
Kyle Joseph
Organizer
Albuquerque, NM