Anyone can become homeless. All it takes is one tragic misstep that winds up leading to a bad sequence of events. You don’t become homeless without suffering. The brokenness of the homeless comes in many forms: Broken dreams, broken hearts, broken bodies, broken minds, and broken souls.
People who have never been homeless have many different reactions to those who are living on the streets. Some make a judgment, declaring the homeless to be weak or lacking in character, as though they are guilty of moral failure. Rash judgments about how the homeless got that way give some people permission to have complete disregard for their humanity.
We walk around them as though they are not there. We pretend we don’t see them. We often look away.
One woman who does not look away from the homeless is Rajni Shankar-Brown, Ph.D. Dr. Shankar-Brown is the Executive Board Member of the National Coalition for the Homeless, the Founder and Executive Director of the Poverty and Homelessness Conference, and the Endowed Chair of Social Justice Education at Stetson University. While her credentials demonstrate her specific expertise, helping to end and prevent homeless is her calling—her life’s work. She is a passionate advocate who gives a voice to those who, collectively, have often been ignored, marginalized, or silenced.
The story of Dr. Rajni Shankar-Brown and why she works tirelessly to tackle an enormous problem has deep roots and spans back several decades to her family’s origins in India. Rajni (pronounced r ah j n ee) was born in Washington D.C. and grew up in the Northern Virginia area. As a child she also spent time living in India to help take care of her grandmother who had cancer. Poverty and the homeless made an indelible impression.
As far back as she can remember, the homeless have always been with her. There was never a time in her life when she was not aware of poverty. Her father, who came from an economically disadvantaged community in India, was given a full scholarship to Howard University, where he intended to study to become an engineer. This was back in the 1960s. Although his scholarship covered the cost of his tuition, all other costs, room and board, living expenses and books, were not covered.
Dr. Shankar-Brown’s mother was a prearranged bride who gave up her dream to become a medical doctor, and instead was married. The couple struggled in the United States, working hard to survive and often reliant upon the resources that were shared in the community. By the time Rajni was born, her parents were committed to raising children who were aware of poverty and had a strong consciousness about homelessness.
Homeless in America:
The Work of Rajni Shankar-Brown, Ph.D.
by Patricia Vaccarino