After experiencing homelessness as a youth, Bill Mash lived what he calls a “normal life”—military service, marriage, kids and a high-paying job as a program manager with Hewlett-Packard in the Bay Area, where he spent 25 years. But after his retirement funds ran out in 2012, he once again took to the streets.
The choice was partly a conscious one—he’d resolved to “walk with the homeless” and live humbly, filming conversations with other homeless people with the hope that the stories he collects can lead to better understanding of the homeless experience—but he also believes it was his only option. “It wasn’t a drill … I had no money,” he said during a recent interview.
It was one of those conversations that opened his eyes to a bigger picture: “I was under a bridge in Garberville, talking to this guy and he said, ‘No, dude, you’re not getting it, you’re missing the whole point … it’s not about homelessness; it’s about poverty.’”
Mash’s realization that homelessness was just one piece of a much bigger problem was solidified by a fellow homeless advocate who told him, “The next time someone says homelessness is a choice, ask them why only poor people make that choice.”
To continue reading this article by Ken Smith, go to: https://www.newsreview.com/chi...content?oid=19666063
Comments (0)