No Room of Her Own: Women's Stories of Homelessness, Life, Death, and Resistance

Palgrave Studies in Oral History

by Desiree Hellegers

This moving collection brings together the stories of fifteen women who share the common experience of homelessness. Drawing on interviews conducted in Seattle, Washington over the course of nearly two decades, these accounts range across the United States, from New York to Louisiana to Los Angeles. Included here are memories of living in the South at the tail end of Jim Crow, of growing up gay and Black in the Pacific Northwest in the 1960s, and of surviving childhood abuse in Harlan, Kentucky in the 1970s. These women reveal the formidable struggles they face every day, from catastrophic health issues to routine threats of physical and sexual assault. But they also speak about their own intellectual interests and spiritual lives, and their activism with organizations such as Women in Black, which has held vigils to mark the deaths and honor the lives of the hundreds who have died homeless in the city that spawned Microsoft, Starbucks, and the WTO protests. Illuminating the rich and complicated humanity of its narrators, this book challenges stereotypes about homeless people and provides jarring, unforgettable insights--taken from shelters, drop-in centers, and the streets--into civil society in the United States.

Genres: Gender, Nonfiction, Womens

235 pages, Paperback

First published August 30, 2011

Reviews

[Roxane Elizabeth Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

The dedication of Desiree Hellegers to so many lives, especially my own kept me afloat and continues to. This Woman/Author/Professor/Activist/Angel in her own way and so many of them is walking the walk; really saving lives, changing mind and impacting people, countries,scholars and all of us, whose lives she's uplifted.

[Peggii · Rating 4 out of 5]

"A street person might be a person who has taken refuge in the streets to escape another environment"
I thank all the voices from his book who were so brave and candid in sharing their stories

[Alana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a difficult book to read at times - many of the stories were graphic and heartbreaking. However, it is important to read the stories of these homeless women, to understand that they are real people who have experienced difficult and often traumatic circumstances. Some of the stories expressed anger and despair, while others were filled with surprising amounts of hope. This book underscores the need to truly take the time to get to know people - every person comes with their own story and history. To jump to conclusions about a homeless person's (or any person's) past or present is both ignorant and harmful, and shows a tremendous amount of disrespect for one of God's beloved children. We need to love by listening and valuing the inherent worth of all people.

This book interviewed homeless women in Seattle, which brought it even closer to home for me, and helped me understand the homeless culture, needs, services, and advocacy issues in my own city a little better.