PeopleSkool Brings Empathy Exercise to University of Washington Students

PeopleSkool at POORmagazine shared a crisis/empathy writing exercise with University of Washington students in a class titled "Homelessness" to reframe the dialogue from one of charity and othering to one of empathy and action.

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While I haven’t faced a police harassment moment that I can think of at the top of my head, I’m always very alert and quite anxious around police because of the way I look.  I’m a brown middle eastern woman, wearing a hijab sometimes which can easily make me a target.

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Um I think I’m going to ? about addiction. And my mother.  I can’t really ? or ? . I guess maybe the first day- I was 10 or something when I realize? This my mother had issues with substance and I don’t even know if I was to call it issues.  But I ? it was to forget ? when I was ? oh she’s wasted - I understand.  And it’s ? of ? her this everyday ? and she gets in a mood ? she ? when she is driving or high or -and she knows I hurt? And we’ve ? about it- I know why and I understand why but I ?

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I’ve had the privilege of never facing eviction, police harassment, or sweeps.  However, as a first generation Vietnamese American, I always heard stories of my family’s experiences fleeing the war, (having to rebuild their whole lives) not knowing any English at all.  My mother + father both had large families (my dad having 6 siblings) who all had to squeeze into a small one-bed apartment, all sleeping on the floor.  Their experiences made me recognized the privilege of having a roof over my head + support to get a higher education.

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I have never been faced directly with homelessness or loss in my life + I recognize this.  Growing up in San Francisco, I have visually seen homelessness.  I remember 4th grade my class and I had to walk to this elementary school downtown in the Tenderloin of S.F.  We had “reading buddies’ at the elementary school and would have a day every 2 weeks that we would spend reading + teaching English at this school.  On the walk there it was maybe 15-30 minutes and through the neighborhood of the tenderloin.  I had witnessed a lot of people who were unsheltered in this area + I remember feeling confused + uncertain as a young kid.  This is where my first true like interactions + witnesses of homeless in San Francisco began.  At this time, I had stereotypical understandings of homelessness + through uncertainty and lack of understanding, I felt scared.  I recognize this now + how I have a new perspective.  I hope people find new perspectives and narratives not the stereotypical + dismissed ones.

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I have experienced getting an eviction notice During Covid.  My boyfriend lost his job and we started to struggle with just my income.  we thankfully had access to foodbanks and family that was able to help in some capacity.  I myself have not faced police harassment but I have seen it first had my boyfriend (Latino) had been pulled over for his car lights not being bright enough the police officer was very rude and nasty until he saw me a white girl.  He completely hanged his attitude.  As crisis I lost my mom to not death but drugs and ffter years she got clean then was in a DA relationship. I was lucky to have my dad who grew up in poverty and worked and id everything he could to provide for my brother and I.

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I come from a quiet street In Edmonds, a prominent Washington retirement town where poverty is barely visible if at all.  I attended a private K-8 school, and never even knew of the reality of poverty-everyone I knew was comfortable or at best hid their hardships from my eyes.  ? high school, I went to a public school and was exposed to a more accurate cross section of Edmond’s residents from a poverty/wealth standpoint.  Now in Seattle, I walk past unhoused people every day which has led me to become acutely aware of my positionality, and the discomfort that comes with it.

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I saw pictures of ICE parked outside the children’s hospital in my hometown in San Diego, implying the nation is prioritizing deporting sick and injured children in my community.

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Earlier last year, we had an encampment in support for Gaza on university grounds.  During that time, there was a white supremacist who came to speak at another event, and rallied together people to harass, agitate, and try and oppress our encampment.  I held onto a shield mad of a trash can, and held the line to stop them from endangering our group and community standing in solidarity.  Whenever I look back to those moments what stings the most was how many people were there to hate.

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I was too young to remember much, however my siblings and mom tell me that mom struggled to find housing after leaving Mexico.  She was involved with partners who did not like her kids, were involved in drugs, imprisoned and would threaten to kick her out.  Thankfully, I do not remember much, other than moving a lot and sharing rooms with others.

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I’ve never experienced any of that directly, and I’m conscious of my privilege to have led a very sheltered life. I’ve been more confronted to homelessness since living on the west coast.  My last apartment my landlord wanted to sell and told me she had a buyer but needed me out in the next week.  I am lucky that I knew my rights and could stand up to her to keep my apartment according to my lease for at least 3 months.  She then called me every morning at 4 am and sent me heinous text and threatened to sue me.  As a 19 y/o it was hard to stand up to an adult.

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My dad has been battling cancer for the last year.  He grew up in severe poverty and violence and seeing him deal with more trauma is so difficult.  However with Trump’s exec orders that limit and cut cancer research money, we see how Trump is attacking people’s health and ability to survive. He does not care about anyone unless they are a 1%-er.

I would seek help from my family and/or friends.  Childcare is very expensive and food is an essential.  It would be hard to not take the job, but at the same time, not having money for rent would make life hard.  I would try to explore other options if I could not get help from family, but I also am unsure where I would start.

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I'm privileged enough to not have experienced eviction, police harassment, ICE, homelessness, etc.  But i have experienced loss, i lost my stepmother when i was 8  She was a true mother to me and she cared for me like i was her own.  I was in a year long state of apathy and couldn't properly grieve her.  I used to talk to her urn and pluck flowers from our garden to offer her every Sunday.  I thought about the video of the man who lost his mother’s ashes during a sweep, and i couldn’t help the sorrow i felt.  I cannot imagine losing something so personal and sentimental, in addition to grappling  with …living.  I must do my part.  This is not far, that was his FAMILY rendered dispensable.

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Keyla Rivera

When me and family arrived here the people that offered to shelter us would steal our food, and things, discourage/lie about opportunities and resources, disrespected our religion and would go through recycles our stuff without our permission.

I don’t know, a possible solution I can think of is to get emergency funds from a non profit organization perhaps or ask my parents to stay with them or have them take care of the children for past those 15 hours.

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