In their own words:
The many faces and voices of Columbia's homeless community and advocates
PHOTOS AND AUDIO BY ZACHARY LINHARES, ANASTASIA BUSBY, ALESSIA TAGLIABUE AND SARA WILLIAMS. AUDIO PRODUCING BY PAOLA RODRIGUEZ. TEXT BY CLAUDIA LEVENS AND GRACE NIELAND. PRODUCED BY IRYNKA HROMOTSKA (KOHUT).
Audio has always been a great passion of mine. Luckily in the Columbia Missourian, our visuals department wanted to consistently try new things and find inspiration in different avenues. In this in-depth look into homelessness in Columbia, I was brought onto the project by photo editor Irynka Hromotska to lead the audio production of this multimedia story. After listening to 14 interviews that each ran over 30 minutes, I edited the audio that was gathered to go in conjunction with the portraits and text that was made by others in the newsroom.
There’s no one path toward homelessness.
The issue sits at the intersection of several complex community and social issues, including housing access, domestic violence, and social and racial justice.
In Columbia, this intersection can manifest itself in a multitude of ways, meaning each homeless person will have their own unique path and story. This is also true for those in the community who want to help solve the problem, with each person have their own unique interpretations and motivations for their humanitarian efforts.
This piece is meant to highlight and underscore the unique experiences of those who are homeless and/or are trying to help address the issue.
The Columbia Missourian has sought to cover policy issues related to homelessness accurately and thoroughly. The past several months have seen heightened debate over the issues like the lack of affordable housing and rental options in Columbia, the increased evictions following the strike-down of the moratorium and efforts to raise the threshold temperature for opening the emergency warming center at the Wabash Station.
These are not what this piece is about, and yet they implicitly are. As we covered these issues, Missourian photographers have gradually amassed photos and soundbites at places like Wabash, camps and local businesses. Although by no means exhaustive, this collection of portraits is meant to demystify and humanize these front-facing policy and institutional issues in our community.
These people have, very vulnerably, offered us a window into their thoughts, experiences and hopes. They’ve shared their stories in their own words. It’s up to us to listen.
Courtney Harris
“Honestly, I don’t want to have my baby on the streets. I grew up in a broken home, and I don’t want to raise a child in a broken home.”
Courtney Harris, who is seven months pregnant and lives in a wooded area in Columbia, is photographed Nov. 6 during the Operation Safe Winter outreach event at Flat Branch Park in Columbia.
Zachary Linhares/Missourian
James Carl “Buz” McDonald is photographed Nov. 16 at Field Park in Columbia. McDonald is an unhoused man who lives in Columbia. “Harm reduction is what is reviving the inner cities,” McDonald said. “It’s amazing when you see that client finally catch on and start making decisions for themselves that are better, it’s amazing.”
Zachary Linhares/Missourian
James Carl “Buz” McDonald
“In our world, it only takes a couple of mistakes and anyone can become homeless, you know.”
Richard Hopson
“I go out just like the homeless do and stand on the street corner, every time someone hands me a dollar out the window I tell them ‘no thank you, I don’t want that, here take my business card instead.”
Richard Hopson is the owner of NO JOB TOO SMALL and is homeless. Here he stands Dec. 14 outside of Unitarian Universalist Church.
Zachary Linhares/Missourian
Joyce Andrews is photographed Nov. 6 at Flat Branch Park in Columbia. Andrews is an unhoused woman who lives in her van in Columbia. “We try to survive like everyone else,” Andrews said. “We live on the streets, we live in the woods, and people think we are so bad people, some people don’t even give us a chance.”
Zachary Linhares/Missourian
Joyce Andrews
“I tried to rent a place, but when you’re on probation or parole, people aren’t renting to you anymore.”
Dorlean
“I want a place bad. I just don't wanna live outside anymore - I have so many plans, so many dreams.”
Dorlean stands Dec. 9 at Wabush Bus Station in Columbia. “I’d rather be in a home than anything,” Dorlean said.
Sara Williams/Missourian
Paul Powell is photographed Dec. 14 at a camp in Columbia. Powell lives at a large homeless encampment in eastern Columbia. “I would say right now one of the biggest things that could help everybody and the community and the environment … would be every 50 or 100 feet a stack of those highway department bags (trash bags) that they’ll pick up, man we’d clean all this up,” Powell said.
Zachary Linhares/Missourian
Paul Powell
“Everybody is unique in their own way. Everybody have a story. Whenever you're shunned by society to the point where the only people you can truly relate to are those who have been through some of the same stuff. ”
Toby Epstein
“I've been here for 16 years and we've been doing that [donating slices of pizza] ever since I have started.”
Shakespeare’s Pizza General Manager Toby Epstein stands inside of the pizza shop Dec. 13 in Columbia. “We are heavily involved in supporting the community,” Epstein said. “We think it’s really important to give back to the community, the stronger the community is, the stronger the area is, the more vibrant it is, the better it is for business.”
Zachary Linhares/Missourian
Greyson Miller stands Dec. 11 at the corner of Broadway and Ninth streets as a volunteer for Food Not Bombs in Columbia. Miller got involved in Food Not Bombs in San Luis Obispo, California, before getting involved in Columbia.
Anastasia Busby/Missourian
Greyson Miller
“I relate with everyone I see and when I see people suffering, I can feel myself suffering. So I'd like to alleviate that if possible.”
Yzette Cowans
“Get out to know more people, talk more. Get out and just walk around, go to places where homeless people are and talk to them. [Ask them] what would you need to be successful?”
Yzette Cowans is one of the people using the housing service provided by the city of Columbia. In this Nov. 18 photo, Cowans sits in her apartment. “Use the city money to buy buildings and place people in homes,” Cowans said when asked how the city could help people in need. Cowans likes how the area she lives in now is more peaceful and family-oriented than it used to be.
Alessia Tagliabue/Missourian
Shakespeare’s General Manager Natalie Hantak is photographed Dec. 13 inside the company’s western location in Columbia. Shakespeare’s donates unused slices to different outreach organizations and shelters in Columbia.
Zachary Linhares/Missourian
Natalie Hantak
“Feeding people is pretty important.This week we probably did [donate] 200 slices, which is a lot.”
Ashley Ukah
“Homelessness can happen to anybody at any point in time. I know people with college degrees and college education who are homeless. I know people who have worked for Fortune-500 companies and through life, it just happened to them - they became homeless.”
Contracted worker for Room at the Inn Ashley Ukah stands Dec. 14 inside of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Columbia. “Housing is a fundamental thing in everyone’s life, they need a place to stay,” Ukah said. “I wish the city would have something like this (Room at the Inn) year round or maybe take some of those funds and find an actual location, a permanent location.”
Zachary Linhares/Missourian