11/12/2003 News media contact: Tim Tanton · (615) 742-5470 · Nashville, Tenn.
By Kim Riemland*
Homeless woman in Seattle, Photo number W03091, Accompanies UMNS #550
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Arnette
Adams poses beside her image on the cover of “Beauty & Strength,” a
2004 calendar that captures pictures and stories of homeless women in
Seattle. The calendar is a project of Seattle’s Church of Mary Magdalene
and its Mary’s Place day center, which are in the basement of First
United Methodist Church downtown. The Church of Mary Magdalene serves
homeless and formerly homeless women. A UMNS photo. Photo number 03-448,
Accompanies UMNS #550, 11/12/03
No Long Caption Available for this Story
Betty
Williamson (left) and Mary Villella pose together for “Beauty &
Strength,” a 2004 calendar that captures pictures and stories of
homeless women in Seattle. The calendar is a project of Seattle’s Church
of Mary Magdalene and its Mary’s Place day center, which are in the
basement of First United Methodist Church downtown. The Church of Mary
Magdalene serves homeless and formerly homeless women. A UMNS photo by
Rachel Small. Photo number 03-449, Accompanies UMNS #550, 11/12/03
No Long Caption Available for this Story
Homeless
women in Seattle want people to look closely at those whom many try not
to see. They’ve posed for a 2004 calendar that captures their pictures
and their stories of struggle and survival. The calendar is a project of
Seattle’s Church of Mary Magdalene and its Mary’s Place day center,
which are in the basement of First United Methodist Church downtown. The
Church of Mary Magdalene serves homeless and formerly homeless women. A
UMNS photo. Photo number 03-447, Accompanies UMNS #550, 11/12/03
No Long Caption Available for this Story
SEATTLE (UMNS) - Joyce Riggins says the worst thing
about being homeless isn't the rainy climate or the lack of privacy in
crowded shelters. It's the way people look at her as if she's done
something wrong, or make a point not to look at her at all.
"Being
homeless is no fun," Riggins says. "I've battled with depression by
being homeless; it's no picnic. And society really kicks us."
Homeless
women in Seattle want people to take a closer look at those whom many
try not to see. Several of the women have posed for a 2004 calendar that
captures their pictures and their stories of struggle and survival.
Riggins
has been homeless for six months. Being in the calendar makes her both
proud and ashamed, she says. She's had a rough time lately, but she
thinks the calendar's title, "Beauty and Strength," captures her
experience.
"I don't profess to be the prettiest woman in the
world, but I know I'm not the ugliest," she says. "I want the strength,
my strength, to come through."
The calendar is designed to
spread compassion and understanding. It's a project of Seattle's Church
of Mary Magdalene and its Mary's Place day center, which are in the
basement of First United Methodist Church downtown. The Church of Mary
Magdalene serves homeless and formerly homeless women.
It grew
out of United Methodist missionary Rachel Small's wish to honor the
women as she completed her two-year assignment working with them.
Rachel's mother, Eve Faulkes, teaches graphic design in West Virginia
and had given workshops to the women when she visited her daughter.
Small and Faulkes thought a calendar could help the women raise money
for their programs, and put a face on the issue of homelessness.
"The
thing that impressed me about these women was how completely dignified
they were," says Faulkes, who took the photos used in the calendar.
"They also had probably a whole lot more strength than me, a whole lot
more faith than me. We thought it was high time people met a few of
those wonderful women."
"I am Miss January," says Hester Garrett, giggling as she holds the calendar up next to her face.
Garrett says homeless women often feel invisible.
"That's
a terrible way to feel about your life," she says. "No matter what you
are in, you are somebody and your circumstances really have nothing to
do with your inner feeling for what you are."
The calendars are
available at www.churchofmarymagdalene.org for $10 each. The proceeds
benefit the Church of Mary Magdalene and Mary's Place.
The women
in the calendar hope those who take the time to look closely at their
pictures, and see their beauty and their strength, won't find it so easy
to look the other way.
Says Faulkes: "Look them in the face, don't look away like they are some kind of lesser being."
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