FEATURE
High School Senior Finds Uncharted Assignment
Adam Oppenheim
Homelessness was never something
I concerned myself with too often.
Like most people, my perception
of homelessness was vague. The
cardboard sign, worn out clothes,
shaking a cup for change… that
was homelessness to me. As I grew
older, I would hear things about the
homeless community in Indianapolis.
I soon realized that it was just
that, a community. But still, the
media’s portrayal of the homeless
remained negative. It was almost as
if something was being hidden from
the public.
In January of 2013, I decided that
regarding homelessness. The idea
was to debunk the rumors and break
down the negative stereotype the
homeless receive, and hopefully
shed some light on the actuality of
the situation. I contacted a friend,
Sam, who had some experience in
the same page, we set out on our
journey to uncover the truth behind
homelessness.
In the beginning, it was tough. We’d
go to homeless shelters throughout
the city and ask the administrators
for interviews, but nobody seemed
to want to participate. Soon enough,
we found ourselves at a homeless
camp downtown on Davidson Street.
The camp residents called it “Irish
Hills.” Irish Hills was the largest
homeless shelter in Indianapolis,
housing up to 70 residents at times.
Very quickly, we started to make
friends with some of the residents
of the camp, including a very
interesting man named Maurice.
He was often referred to as the de
facto mayor of Irish Hill, but he’d be
quick to refute that, saying that he was
only serving his duties as a homeless
advocate. Either way, it was an extremely
interesting situation.
The camp was extremely organized.
Hanging from one of the bridge support
beams was a dry erase board, which
had a list of what church ministries and
outreach workers would be coming
12 Inspired
on what days. There was a bookshelf,
drinking water, a generator; even a
television would be brought out each
evening. It was a neighborhood, a
very unique neighborhood. This
neighborhood had its fair share of issues,
but what neighborhood doesn’t?
When doing a documentary, you never
know how your story will end up. We
thought we knew what our story would
consist of, but that quickly changed.
After becoming acclimated at the camp,
Davidson street camp and the city. The
city wanted the camp gone, and fast. Our
story began to develop into something
more than what we anticipated. Rumors
of camp closing dates were spreading
was becoming something greater than
we could have ever imagined. Before
I could blink an eye, I found myself