Homeless, Pregnant, Alone and Scared

by Mark Horvath · 2010-10-09 08:00:00 UTC
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This new video comes from Mark's InvisiblePeople.tv 30-city, 11,000-mile, 75-day road trip, going on now.

"Caution: some content may be offensive." Ka'e k'e's interview from St. Paul, Minnesota, is exactly why I have that disclaimer on InvisiblePeople.tv, where I post my videos. She flat out tells us what life is like on the streets for a young woman.

The disclaimer ends with the sentence, "Our hope is you'll get mad enough to do something." I am sure Ka'e k'e's experience will offend you in some way. She has to sleep with strangers just to survive. It's the better option than freezing outside. Ka'e k'e is pregnant, and because she has "survival sex," she does not know who the baby's father is. I sure hope that gets you crazy mad.

Before you label Ka'e k'e an awful mother, know that she is just one of many young girls having babies on the streets. It's a vicious cycle for many. They don't know how to avoid it and many don't have the choices we take for granted. Having sex with strangers and taking drugs to forget the pain is the only way to survive.

I wish you could see what I see in person. I see a hurting young woman who is screaming for help. She is living the life that her family's socio-economic background gave to her. Most of these young adults come from families who were also homeless, or very close to it.

Offended yet? Mad enough to do something? My videos cannot stop earthquakes. They cannot stop hurricanes. They cannot end drug abuse or domestic violence. I sure wish they could fix the economy. Thing is, with a strong family we can get through every crisis that comes at us. If we worked on fixing family — and for me it was the community of Alcoholics Anonymous that saved my life — we could stop this insane cycle and prevent other young adults from going through the same madness Ka'e k'e lives everyday.

So now that you're offended I pray you will take real action to help the hurting young adults in your community or others. Ka'e k'e is staying at the Dorothy Day Center in St. Paul, where donations are of course welcomed and needed.

Mark Horvath is an activist for the homeless. He vlogs at invisiblepeople.tv and blogs at hardlynormal.com. He was formerly homeless in Hollywood.
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