Patty Smith

Standing on the wide sidewalk out front of the P Street, NW Whole Foods, Patty Smith slowly waves her hand at passersby. Upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that what at first appears a friendly gesture from a sweet looking, middle aged black woman is actually an uncontrollable tick, perhaps a form of turrets. Her right hand continues to oscillate while in her left she holds several copies of the Street Sense newspaper written and sold by the homeless of Washington as a way to raise money and awareness. She is sporting a neon orange poncho to indicate she is working, the type that construction workers wear at dusk to make themselves visible to oncoming traffic, and it clashes with the red streaks that run through her shoulder length black hair.

Patty’s life took many turns before she found herself on that sidewalk. Born to a poor family in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, she was raised by her mother and aunt. Her father disappeared from her life early on without explanation, so it was left to her mother, Catherine Clay, to care for Patty and her three siblings, Darlene, Robert, and Richard. Catherine worked as a union laborer in a steel mill in Pittsburgh and constantly struggled to support the family.

After attending public school during her childhood, Patty served a brief stint doing clerical work at Blue Cross Blue Shield before deciding to join the US Army Reserves. Although she was Honorably Discharged shortly thereafter due to being diagnosed with some form of mental illness, she served long enough to meet her first love who worked alongside her in the ranks. They married and tried to have children to no avail. Patty had always wanted kids of her own, but after several attempts, she had undergone two painful miscarriages and no successful pregnancies. A year after moving to Washington, DC to temp as a legal secretary, Patty and her husband divorced due to frequent bickering, though the relationship continued on and off for the next 25 years.

Her temp job as a legal secretary was not paying her sufficiently for her to afford her bills, and after being threatened with eviction, she moved in with her uncle and then traveled back to Pittsburgh to stay with her brother. Following a serious fight spurred by Patty wanting to have a boy stay with her overnight in the apartment, her short-lived stay with her brother came to an abrupt end and Patty found herself living in the Myriam’s Women’s Center. There were no semi-permanent rooms in this shelter in Pittsburgh, so Patty had to carry all of her belongings with her each day wherever she went before checking back in to a new room for the night. Patty enjoyed staying out late and roaming the streets and “playing under bridges with her buddies,” and some nights would miss the 12am deadline to arrive back at the shelter for the night.

Patty is interrupted in her story by a homeless friend as she sits at a picnic table outside of Whole Foods, her slow drawl rising a note in excitement. The two of them hug and exchange several “how are you doing’s?” with the repetition of the question serving as their respective answers again and again. Patty accents her answer, as she often does, with “uh huhs” and “yeahs.” “Doing good, uh huh! How bout you?” And she gives a friendly laugh. Neither appears to recognize the circular nature of their conversation. After a minute or two more, the man picks up and heads on to church with the declared hope of running into Patty again soon.

In 1989, when Patty was living off of Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Disability Insurance, she was diagnosed with cancer. While she doesn’t recall how the cancer was treated or how the treatment was paid for, she is grateful that she is today cancer free, although her smoking habit continues to pose risks to her health. This was also around the time that Patty met Terry, who would go on to become her boyfriend and financial support for the two years they spent together in a low income apartment on Broad Street in Pittsburgh.

After discovering that Terry had been having an affair, Patty moved back in with her mom and spent 6 months babysitting her three nieces. Patty can’t articulate much of what they did together, although she knows it was one of the best times in her life. She seems to have trouble recalling past events, or at least articulating her memories with any detail, although she is pleased to share what she can. She recalls with a great smile one game they played in which they would take turns pretending to audition on stage for a ballet and dancing for each other.

Patty applied to be a student at the online Strayer University, but her doctor, when contacted by the University, indicated that her mental illness would likely keep her from being able and capable of completing a higher education, and her application was subsequently rejected. In 2005, Patty entered an entrepreneurship program in Washington with the hope of becoming more astute in business practices. Then, in 2008, her doctor changed his assessment of her abilities and gave her approval to sign up for classes at the Computer Technology Institute at 22nd and K Street. She is “liking the computers, yeah,” and has since inspired the editor of Street Sense to go back to school.

Today, Patty shares a semi-permanent room at the YWCA at 9th and Rhode Island Avenue, NW in Washington, DC. Although she maintains she has no time for a love life, she currently has a boyfriend of six years who lives in Colombia Heights, though she rarely sees him more than once per week, if that. He occasionally helps her out financially. Patty spends her time caring for the older lady she boards with, attending church and listening to gospel music (her favorite song is “Walk Around Heaven” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiDCAXIw0yU), selling Street Sense, writing poetry and short stories, and taking computer literacy classes. Having been inspired by the Nancy Drew novels, her dream is to become a fiction writer and her work for Street Sense is building her resume. She also frequents a variety of churches on Sunday mornings without much concern over the denomination, although she maintains she is a very religious lady. She has been to Catholic services, Union, Mission, Baptist, and others, and believes that all of her strength is derived from listening to “the word.”

Following eviction from her home in 2003 and the death of her beloved sister, Patty’s mother suffered two strokes, the second of which left her paralyzed from the neck down. She today lives in a nursing facility in Pennsylvania, and Patty makes it up to visit her when she can. Patty maintains that her mother keeps her spirits despite being heavily medicated, but she is always worried about what news tomorrow will bring. Patty also recently contacted her father who, through family connections, she discovered lives in Rochester, New York. At 76 years old, he is a retired UPS worker. He at first didn’t recognize her as his daughter as her name was Georgia May when she was born, but a relationship has since developed and he is planning a trip down to Washington in the coming years. Patty also has cousins living in South East DC, the youngest of whom she “gives big sister words of advice,” and an uncle in District Heights.

Upon being prompted to list some of her favorite memories from growing up, Patty struggles to come up with any. Instead, she shifts into her most vivid memories, which also are some of her worst. She mentions the death of her Aunt Ruth and the time when she first arrived in DC and called her temp agency crying because she had 10 credit accounts open and no money. She says that money has always been a big problem in her life. When pushed to come up with something positive, she explains that she vaguely recalls a high school dance that was a lot of fun for her and her friends, but is quick to add, “that life is in the past…”

Having lived through the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, and 00’s, Patty has seen the world around her change dramatically. She has 55 years of stories that make up her life, many of which reveal enormous obstacles she overcame and hardships she continues to endure. Whether the story is a happy or sad one is for Patty Smith to determine. Given her friendly demeanor, sweet tone, and hearty laugh, it seems as though her outlook rises above many of the grim trials she has been through. But it is safe to say that beyond the exterior of this warm woman exists a person who, between mental illness, disease, heartbreak, and the stresses of poverty, has been afforded few breaks. As she smiles and waves her hand in the air asking strangers for compassion, she carries with her to this sidewalk a life that has not been easy but remains full of determination, soul, and dreams.

Welcome

Today’s economy is tough for the average American. There’s no doubt that more people are struggling to get by today than at any time in the last seven decades. We have seen it on the news and lived it every day for the last year and a half: people losing their jobs and health care, going bankrupt, facing foreclosure. But with all of the attention this subject has received over the course of the past year and a half, a fact that is often overlooked is that, even in good times for our economy, even in the best of times, when the news crews and cameras are off the streets, there are millions upon millions of people living in extreme poverty across the country. There are people and families, the most destitute of us, living on the streets of our cities.

Every day there are people sprawled out along church steps to rest, crouched on the sidewalks with hands outstretched begging for donations, wandering the streets with nowhere to go. It is perhaps a sight so routine that on occasion people in these dire financial circumstances are dismissed as easily as the brick and mortar structures that comprise the city landscape. This website is intended to contribute in some small way to DC’s awareness about the homeless people in this city by sharing the stories that make up their respective lives, as taken from one-on-one interviews. For all of the celebrities featured in biopics, we surely have as much to learn from the perseverance, spirit, and street sense of those who quietly live as the poorest among us.