4 GROUNDCOVER NEWS COMMUNITY People in the neighborhood: Robinn This is Robinn’s story. Robinn was born in Detroit in 1990 and now resides in Ypsilanti. She did not say much about her upbringing or young adulthood except that she was sent to prison early on. In 11th grade, Robinn committed armed robbery and fled. She was found two years later, attempting to live a normal life, and spent the next two years in prison. Robinn: I did go back for my GED through a program they had and then I went to college at Wayne Community College. Then I was homeless again, and then I went to Washtenaw Community College. Jim: What did you study? Robinn: Social Work. Jim: What would you need to continue? Robinn: I was told that to go further, I would have to see a judge because of the felony. That’s what’s keeping me from going back to college; I got sent to prison for some things I did in my past. That and being homeless makes it hard. Jim: What’s keeping you homeless? Robinn: Really just trying to climb out of it you know. Between jobs and trying to keep myself stable, climbing out of that gets kind of hard. And then I get depressed so then it becomes a lack of me being responsible, you know, so after a while I just kind of give up. Jim: People who have never been homeless or housing-insecure seem to think people who are homeless because of substance abuse choose to do it, even though it’s ruining their life. What’s your take on this? Robinn: To be quite frank, most people out there don’t give a fuck anymore about what people think about their drinking and smoking cause they’re going to do what they’re going to do for right now and when they’re ready they’ll stop. I have those days myself where it's like “I’m gonna drink and that’s just that.” Not smart. We do have a choice. But here’s the of Groundcover News. Jim: What’s it like working while being unsheltered? Robinn: It’s hard when you’re sleepJIM CLARK Groundcover vendor No. 139 thing — when you’re out there, you can hope to get off the street, but the task is so daunting, it becomes easy to escape in a bottle. You may sweat having to pay your car insurance and phone bill in the same week, but when you don’t know where you’re going to sleep, or if it’s going to be safe, where you’re getting your food from, and feeling like no one gives a shit about you, the numbness of being high or drunk is very appealing. However, whether people know it or not, we talk about quitting. We actually help a lot of our friends, when we see them getting too incapacitated we take the drink and say to them “save it ‘til tomorrow, you’re not getting anymore.” Jim: What would you need now to get shelter and support? Robinn: I know Pathways and other community outreach programs around here have been helping me get back on track. And so just by me staying in contact with them and handling my part as far as making sure I get a job. Which I did; I start working for Pastor Anna tomorrow. Robinn is in a niche known as “the working homeless.”* She is referring to the FedUp food truck ministry run by Pastor Anna Taylor-McCants. FedUp serves free meals to the street community in Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor. Robinn works on the food truck. Learn more in "Warning: Homeless People at Work” in the January 24, 2025 edition ing outside. You wake up in the morning and are around people in the community, they kind of irritate you, you know. I mean, you try to give them a sandwich even though they tried to fight you yesterday. People living without reliable housing often congregate in public places. Having no other recourse, they go to the same community meals, bus stations, libraries and street corners. Being around the same people, struggling, day in and day out, can be draining. Robinn was one of many that spent time at the site of the downtown Ypsilanti farmer’s market (Growing Hope — 16 S. Washington). The summers of 2023 and 2024 saw a series of skirmishes between the city, the police, the unsheltered residents of the street and FedUp Ministries. I invited Robinn to talk about her experience. Robinn: Those were two of the hardest summers of my life. But it showed me that the homeless community will come together within ourselves and help each other get through it. We kept each other safe. It was a lot, there were situations I had to fight to save my life. Especially being a gay woman, it can be hard. People try to take advantage of you. Jim: If someone wanted to give you a free ride to college but wanted you to say why you deserve it, what would you say? Robinn: If we provide people with opportunities to heal and grow, that will improve our community’s economy. Instead of people walking around asking for money, they will spend money. If the citizens of Ypsilanti want a vibrant downtown community then Robinn wants to save the world and build better communities. they need to start funding people’s education, and provide them with programs to teach trade skills and then offer them jobs. Then they could pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Because to pull yourself up by your bootstraps, you first need boots. Why do I deserve it? Because why not? I deserve it because I’m a human being. A good human being. If college helps a person further themselves in life, why can you not get it for free? It’s going to pay for itself. Eventually we will pay it back, in a sense. We’re going to spend money in the community. It’s going to come back, I mean isn’t that the whole idea? I could be the one trying to change the world and help build better communities. I’ve had so many experiences in my life personally and I can use it to bring to the people you can’t reach otherwise. Me learning social work for my community is going to help me as well. It would be a great success story and then more success stories would come from that. Groundcover acrostic honorable mentions Growing community one paper at a time Reading about the lives of avoided people Once known can never be unknown Uplifting our spirit Neighbors found and valued Discovering our lives in others Coming to know our connections Opening our hearts to each other Voice we learn to hear Enjoying the moment to interact Recovering the common ground we had lost. By Louise Gorenflo Growing Reaching Owning our past Using it to Name our nemeses Doing what it takes to Convert pain to gain Opening hands and hearts Valuing each other Every day Renewed and renewing By Susan Beckett God Reigns Our Umbrella New Day Creates Others Venues Everyone Rejoice By Tarya Simo MAY 16, 2025
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