My Experience with Miracle Messages
My name is Isabella Gianatiempo, and I am from a small town in the Bay Area called Martinez. I currently live in Los Angeles and attend the University of Southern California. It wasn’t until I came to USC for college and began working with Miracle Messages, an organization that uses short video messages to connect people experiencing homelessness with their long-lost loved ones, through my Writing-150 Community Engagement course that my perspective on those experiencing housing insecurity drastically changed.
My first great encounter through Miracle Messages was with a woman named Debby*. She had come to the Source, an event with numerous resources for people with unstable housing, originally looking for references to stable housing, but after percolating, she realized she wanted to find her long lost friend named Hannah. She had not seen Hannah for over 20 years, and reconnecting with her would give her hope and rekindle a meaningful friendship. I was ecstatic to start my first case with Miracle Messages and that night, I immediately went on Whitepages and began my search for Hannah. My excitement quickly faded away as thousands of Hannah Does who were around age 60 and lived in Gardena, CA came up. My search became more difficult and I continued to hit dead-ends. I am one to work non-stop until I get something, so being unsuccessful in my search was extremely frustrating for me. I finally realized I needed help, and I reached out for assistance from others and I am currently still working on the case. One great thing about Miracle Messages is people’s kindness to help with cases and their dedication to help reconnect loved ones.
Another one of my most memorable experiences with Miracle Messages was at a particular source event at Central Library in downtown Los Angeles. A kind older man, Taylor, was looking for his long lost lover, Madelyn. I was immediately hesitant because Miracle Messages does not find exes because of controversy — but I decided to listen to him anyway, and I am so glad I did. Taylor began reminiscing about his time living with Madelyn in Georgia. He stared off into the distance as he told me about the beautiful love story the two of them shared together: wholesome dates to the movies, eating dinner at the local diner, and lying in the grass and looking at the stars. His recount of their love story brought tears to my eyes, even though it happened more than 30 years ago. The emotions were raw and fresh even after all that time, and I could tell he cared a lot for her. He told me how he went into a rehabilitation program, got clean, and was trying to reconnect with people who he lost contact with over the years. Hearing about his life before he experienced housing instability changed the way I thought of him because I was able to relate to his life experiences more. I realized we need to give everyone the opportunity to be heard, just as I did with Taylor. He was able to tell his story to me because I was ready to listen to him, and therefore he was able to change the portrayal of himself.
I joined this project and engaged in many meaningful connections with people experiencing housing instability. I began to reflect on my experience with the homeless in my hometown. The culture surrounding the homeless in Martinez was extremely different than the positive, uplifting culture I was surrounded by with Miracle Messages. Martinez residents and the local government treated people experiencing homelessness as a sort of nuisance and they were simply ignored or punished. Not much was done to assist them in transitioning into rehabilitation programs, shelters, or the workforce. Most residents would disregard them and treat them in a dehumanizing way.
These individual interactions, or lack thereof, set the stage for stereotypes surrounding the homeless. Martinez even coined the nickname “The place of Antiques and Tweaks,” which is because of the unnecessary amount of Antique stores in our quaint downtown and those experiencing homelessness all throughout. I even contributed to these stereotypes. Unfortunately, my own mother was assaulted by a homeless man and this singular incident reinforced what I had already been conditioned to believe my whole life. I also realized that when other singular incidents occur, I of course attribute them to individuals, but when this incident happened, I attributed it to the entire group of those experiencing insecure housing. It was just so ingrained in me and I realize now I was conditioned to assume that.
At first I thought the people without secure housing I met through Miracle Messages were just different than the people in my town, but I realized that it wasn’t that they were different. My perspective changed due to the positive environment I was in and the uplifting interactions I partook in. I am so thankful for the attitude shift Miracle Messages has given me.
I have learned so much from talking to and getting to know homeless people through Miracle Messages. Over time, I stopped seeing them as homeless people, and simply started seeing them as people. This is the way it should be. Not having stable housing shouldn’t define someone because people are so much more than that. If given the chance, homeless individuals could prove that, as I learned through simply having conversations and listening to their stories.
*names have been changed for safety and privacy
