Bringing Homelessness Up Close and Personal
Jess Ponce Jr. had never told anyone how his life had begun to change one year, 10 months, 10 days and 12 hours earlier when his 20-year-old girlfriend “traded up for something better.”
Maureen Thompkins had kept inside how she became homeless for the first time when she ran away after her aunt beat her with an extension cord for refusing to eat pigs feet. Leighton Banks had chased for more than 20 years the high he felt in a jam session with Stevie Wonder and Tito Puente at his parents’ home.
Such were the turning points for the electrician and a mother turned panhandlers and a musician who became an addict. Each fell into the ranks of the Pasadena homeless and are dramatizing their high times and hard-luck stories in front of audiences in Old Pasadena’s One Colorado courtyard.
They, along with eight others who have lived at the Union Station homeless shelter in Pasadena, have written a script based on their experiences. They hope that “Face to Face: Stories From the Street and Back” gives a voice to the nameless.
One Colorado management wanted to bring people face to face with the social service organizations in Pasadena, said Kate Strauss, marketing coordinator for the real estate company that owns the property. So every other month on weekends, a different nonprofit agency displays its services in the square, on Pasadena Boulevard between Fair Oaks and Raymond avenues, surrounded by upscale shops, restaurants and a movie theater complex. The free, 45-minute play runs at 7 and 8 p.m. on Saturdays throughout October.
Thompkins most recently became homeless when she fled an abusive relationship six months ago. She came to the Los Angeles area 22 years ago as a payroll clerk. Since then she has been through three husbands, including the father of her sons Jonathan and Maurice Simms, who are also in the play.
She began her descent into street life the day she ran away from her aunt’s whipping, she said. She kept the spiral turning downward by drinking herself out of jobs and relationships.
Thompkins plans to move later this month into low-income housing, for which she recently received approval.
Cameron Jolly was one of about 200 people watching the premiere performance of “Face to Face.” The story lines, he said, sound very close to the ones he hears as a jailer at an East Los Angeles juvenile detention center.
“It could be criminals, gangs, homeless people,” Jolly said. “The story is the same: ‘Bad family life and drugs messed me up.’ I’m glad to see them telling it, though. One thing I’ve learned is if they don’t tell it, we’ll be back 15 years later listening to their children tell the same story.”
Understanding what can lead to homelessness can help others avoid it, said Alvin Abrazaldo, who tells his story in the play.
