Lavelle
Image by mckenziemedia
[Note: This was a conversation I had months before COVID-19. I’m not connecting with anyone during this time].
Lavelle was on the corner of Michigan and Chestnut. He’s been homeless for a couple years. He was in a wheelchair, because he has limited mobility in his legs. There are few places for him to sleep he said, because people shoo him away and say "you can’t be here". He used to sleep on Lower Wacker, but it’s dangerous down there and it’s hard to sleep. Around the downtown he’s had Chicago workers tell him that it doesn’t look good for the city to have homeless people sleeping around. His biggest need is clothing, sleeping bag, socks, shoes, and bus cards for transportation. The amazing thing about Lavelle is that he was employed by Thresholds as an advocate/counselor to help people in jail and going through difficult times. Then he got into trouble himself and ended up in jail. He said, now I’ve seen it from both sides–employed as a counselor and being in jail, as well as the one needing help. Now, he wants to "extend my hand and help others in need". He’s trying to get his ID, which was stolen from him and a few other of his belongings. Near the end of our conversation, he said "and I’m writing a book about being homeless and climbing out of homelessness". He had written a bunch of things down, but ended up having his journal stolen on the street. Lavelle’s story will be told…