I am unsure how much of Jolene's story is true. What I am sure of is she has been living outside, homeless in San Diego far too long. Jolene was also the nicest and most interesting person I met that day.

What first caught my attention was Jolene's shopping cart. You'll see it later on in the video. it's really ingenious how she made a shopping cart weather-protected to hold her belongings. We started to talk. Jolene shared that she is moving back to Texas because even as a homeless person, she cannot afford to live in San Diego.

Jolene is transgender. She started off the interview by telling me about how she was attacked by someone trying to rob her. Jolene shows us the metal staples in her head. It's dangerous being homeless! Someone commented that their surgical staples, and that Jolene couldn't have them removed at any time. I wish I had known in the moment because I would've asked her about it.

I normally don't post videos like this. Many channels do. Notice that we don't have ads on this video. I know when I was homeless and I told people that I was responsible for getting Wheel of Fortune in Jeopardy to TVs around the world, do you think anyone believed me? I decided to post this story because Jolene really impressed me with her ingenuity, it's important to show mental illness out on the streets in a way that educates the public instead of dehumanizing homeless people.

Jolene says she survives by the goodness of a few Christian friends and some strangers. While Jolene was showing me her cart, she mentioned that she's an artist, and I asked her to show us some of her art. Jolene is talented. Art and music help people work through trauma and give people purpose.

Some may watch this video or even may have met Jolene in San Diego and say she wants to be homeless, but the truth is, many homeless people adapt to life on the streets. It's called learned helplessness. The brain is extremely powerful. The brain has two choices. It's going to tell a homeless person that they are worthless and society hates them, or that they want to be homeless, and that it's their choice to live outside. Many homeless people tried to get out of homelessness, but after hitting the wall of bureaucracy over and over again, they just got used to life on the streets. They figure out how to survive. Jolene is very creative and very strong-willed. But her story is heartbreaking. I'm not talking about what she's telling us with her words. I'm talking about the story she's telling us with her face in her eyes. We need to prevent and solve homelessness for everyone. We need to make sure that people like Jolene don't end up out on the streets, and for those that do, there's a path to housing that's quick before they develop layers of trauma after being outside.

Another San Diego story:

From a Tent to a Home: No Longer Homeless    • From a Tent to a Home: No Longer Home...  

Finland Solved Homelessness: Here's How (Spoiler: It's More Than Housing First)    • Finland Solved Homelessness: Here's H...  
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About Invisible People

There is a direct correlation between what the general public perceives about homelessness and how it affects policy change. Most people blame homelessness on the person experiencing it instead of the increasing shortage of affordable housing, lack of employment, childhood trauma, lack of a living wage, or the countless reasons that put a person at risk. This lack of understanding creates a dangerous cycle of misperception that leads to the inability to effectively address the root causes of homelessness.

We imagine a world where everyone has a place to call home. Each day, we work to fight homelessness by giving it a face while educating individuals about the systemic issues that contribute to its existence. Through storytelling, education, news, and activism, we are changing the narrative on homelessness.

Invisible People is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to educating the public about homelessness through innovative storytelling, news, and advocacy. Since our launch in 2008, Invisible People has become a pioneer and trusted resource for inspiring action and raising awareness in support of advocacy, policy change and thoughtful dialogue around poverty in North America and the United Kingdom.