Homeless given voice at Lincoln

A crowd of 300 primarily housed people filled Lincoln Theatre Saturday night for “There’s No Place Like Home,” a moving and heart breaking staged reading of Skagit County homeless people’s own words and lives.

Ten actors read on stage, dressed casually, one a young man wearing a hoodie, another, as a former pilot, wearing a stocking cap. A women emerged from a dome tent and walked onstage carrying bags of her possessions. The actors portrayed the words collected from homeless people using inflections, gestures, speaking simply, straightforwardly, sympathetically, emotionally, exquisitely and personally, portraying good people in bad circumstances.

Three themes emerged from every story: losing one’s home was not planned, bad circumstances piled up and alcohol and drugs became treatment for cold, hunger and sleeping outdoors.

One teenager traced his poor school performance to the lead paint on the walls of his childhood home. The pilot lost his job because he was on opioids after an operation and could not fly. He lost his home when he could not keep up child support payments. A woman’s mother went to prison and the daughter became homeless.

Asked what would help, one fellow replied, “three meals a day.”

The evening was organized by Theatre Artists for Social Action (TASA). Led by director Stella Ireland, they edited 15 hours of transcripts from interviews with homeless people into the one hour show. Ireland wrote in an email “A huge heartfelt thank you to the courageous folks that shared their story.”

TASA’s goal, Ireland wrote, “was to educate the people in our community about the challenges that homeless people face. Although there are no quick and easy answers to the challenges faced by our homeless neighbors, all change begins with awareness and education.”

When the lights came up, Ireland had questions for a panel made up of Dr. Connie Davis, chief medical officer, Skagit Regional Health; Erin Von Fempe, Mount Vernon police department outreach social worker; Wende Sanderson, president of Skagit County League of Women Voters and Lisa Janicki, Skagit County commissioner.

The evening raised $4,700: $2,600 in admission donations for production costs and $2,100 through a silent art auction for a scholarship through the Second Chance Foundation at Skagit Valley College, founded by La Conner’s Kyle Von Stroberg.

The performance will be shown tonight at the College’s theatre. It is sold out.

Saturday Davis had the last word: “We’re going to pay now or pay later. If we pay later it will be more expensive.”

Ten actors read on stage, dressed casually, one a young man wearing a hoodie, another, as a former pilot, wearing a stocking cap. A women emerged from a dome tent and walked onstage carrying bags of her possessions. The actors portrayed the words collected from homeless people using inflections, gestures, speaking simply, straightforwardly, sympathetically, emotionally, exquisitely and personally, portraying good people in bad circumstances.

Three themes emerged from every story: losing one’s home was not planned, bad circumstances piled up and alcohol and drugs became treatment for cold, hunger and sleeping outdoors.

One teenager traced his poor school performance to the lead paint on the walls of his childhood home. The pilot lost his job because he was on opioids after an operation and could not fly. He lost his home when he could not keep up child support payments. A woman’s mother went to prison and the daughter became homeless.

Asked what would help, one fellow replied, “three meals a day.”

The evening was organized by Theatre Artists for Social Action (TASA). Led by director Stella Ireland, they edited 15 hours of transcripts from interviews with homeless people into the one hour show. Ireland wrote in an email “A huge heartfelt thank you to the courageous folks that shared their story.”

TASA’s goal, Ireland wrote, “was to educate the people in our community about the challenges that homeless people face. Although there are no quick and easy answers to the challenges faced by our homeless neighbors, all change begins with awareness and education.”

When the lights came up, Ireland had questions for a panel made up of Dr. Connie Davis, chief medical officer, Skagit Regional Health; Erin Von Fempe, Mount Vernon police department outreach social worker; Wende Sanderson, president of Skagit County League of Women Voters and Lisa Janicki, Skagit County commissioner.

The evening raised $4,700: $2,600 in admission donations for production costs and $2,100 through a silent art auction for a scholarship through the Second Chance Foundation at Skagit Valley College, founded by La Conner’s Kyle Von Stroberg.

The performance will be shown tonight at the College’s theatre. It is sold out.

Saturday Davis had the last word: “We’re going to pay now or pay later. If we pay later it will be more expensive.”