TED Talk: Becky Blanton

“Becky Blanton planned to live in her van for a year and see the country, but when depression set in and her freelance job ended, her camping trip turned into homelessness. In this intimate talk, she describes her experience of becoming one of America’s working homeless. (Recorded at TEDGlobal 2009, July 2009, Oxford, UK. Duration: 07:10)”

My Notes:

• 3 years ago she became a working homeless because she quit her job as a newspaper editor after her father died.
• Lived in her van with her cat and rottweiler for a year
• Failed to realize three critical things:
  • Society equates living in a permanent structure (even a shack) as having a value as a person
  • Failed to realize how quickly the negative perceptions of other people can impact our reality if we let it
  • Failed to realize that homelessness is an attitude, not a lifestyle
• Tim Russert included an essay she had written about her father in his book.  She went into a bookstore and reread her essay and realized she needed to get back to her passion and fight her depression
• The human spirit can overcome anything if it has hope
• Hope always finds a way

Becky continues to write on her blog and has written a free eBook called Homeless for the Holidays about how to truly help the Homeless.