Interviews

Real Stories: Meet James

Published May 05, 2009 @ 09:02PM PT

I wish I could share with you the emotion I felt the first time I walked into Sacramento's original and now infamous Tent City. Despite all of the homeless communities I have visited and lived in, I never felt tension like this before.

James was the first person I met at tent city. He was hard at work trying to build a larger "buggy" out of shopping carts. He seemed cool and creative, but to be honest, I thought he was on drugs. Low and behold, the next day, his cart was not only built but ready to move. Needless to say, I was pretty impressed.

Of all the people I met at Sacramento's tent city, James has stayed with me the most. It was blistering hot the day I met him, and he had only one day to move all of his worldly possessions. I could just sense his desperation. I hope this emotion is captured in this video. His face still haunts me.

[James is the third story from my trip to Sacramento. You can also meet Chris and Eve. I created a slide show on Whrrl to help show some of what I experienced. You can view by clicking here.]