Annmarie’s Birthday Promise
My name is Annmarie Bustamante, I am on of the founders of ABC, Artists Building Communities (formerly known at Unhoused Artist Aid) and first got interested in providing unhoused aid through the houseless solidarity group I joined through TANC, Tenants and Neighborhood Council. They shared an update that an entire encampment here in Oakland had burned down and folks are in need of sleeping bags and tents. I had a large tent that I use for camping and burning man sometimes. It was a 10 by 10 ft tent with a pole that was starting to break. I also had a dusty but very comfortable sleeping pad to offer. That night I came over, parked opened my trunk and shared “I heard y’all need tents”. The men there were elated and they set the large tent up right away. I apologized saying “Sorry this sleeping pad is a bit dirty.” and the recipient laughed and confirmed “It will work, thank you.”
This was in September 2019, and I’m a Lyft driver so I can see this encampment from the freeway each time I drove home from Berkeley or San Francisco. Every time I drove by I could see the tent I donated, and I felt such warmth knowing that these folks have it a little bit better because of what I shared.
The next month, I went to Oakland’s China town to pick up some lung moistening medicine (my cough from Burning Man that summer was still lingering) and my acupuncturist from Lake Merritt Community College directed me to a small shop there. The man I would meet on this day, would change my life forever.
I am always hyper vigilant about hiding all my valuables in my trunk and offering zero incentive for anyone to smash my windows. I have had various Lyft rental cars, and my own personal vehicles’ windows broken 4 times in 5 years, and had my battery, license plate, registration stickers stolen right outside my home. So I am super careful. I parked, moved my jackets to the trunk and hid my cellphone charging cords. I closed my car door and there was Son. An unhoused Vietnamese man in his 50’s. He warned me about how cars get messed with very frequently here. I agreed and showed him that I never leave anything remotely valuable in plain site, not even coins. He learned where I was headed and insisted that he escort me there, for protection.
This reminds me of a time in college. I went to some electronica show in Downtown San Francisco and was staying at my friend’s place in the Tenderloin. I’m a 5’2 woman, I was wearing a tiny little dress, I had consumed a large amount of alcohol and was walking by myself to this friends place (I’m not sure why I was solo, but potentially these friends left the event before me because they needed to sleep). This was the era before Ride Share, and Taxi drivers were more dangerous and manipulative than walking in one of the most famously sketchy strips in the city. It was six or so blocks total from Ruby Sky to Hyde and Turk. And the tenderloin changes every year, but I can assure you my friend did not live in some glistening, refurbished luxury apartment that have now gentrified this characteristically “rough” place. They lived on the bottom floor of these old, and crumbling apartments where the landlord refused to do anything about the cockroaches. Anyways, I saw a random unhoused man who was walking around. I declare, “Sir! You are much bigger than me, are you doing anything right now? Can you be my body guard?” And he was very enthusiastic to help. Maybe it was the liquid courage, or the energy I felt from this person, but I was instantly relieved, we went and got pizza and then he safely escorted me home.
I have fond memories of random houseless help when I am notably in trouble, so I obliged. Son and I started walking to the Chinese Medicine Shop and he told me about his life. I found out that he has a daughter my age, he is a chef, and he has slept in a box on the steps to this Chinese Community center for 10 years. I gave him a little bit of money, it was less than 5 dollars, and he wrote his phone number down on the box of medicine that I had just bought. I promised him that I will try and help him with a catering job once my apparel brand grows and I can afford to. I imagined him cooking for all of our models/crew when we do a photoshoot down the line.
This dream quickly came true.. Read next week to hear what unfolds.
Happy birthday to me, I am so glad to be able to help Son and a plethora of other beautiful folks here in the Bay Area who have found themselves out on the streets. It is crucial that we work to house them in this health hazardous time. Housing is a human right. Nobody is homeless, the Earth is all our home,
#ArtistsBuildingCommunities #BlogPost #One #ToBeContinued