Not Your Stereotypical Speakers featured at Hunger and Homelessness Event

Jackie Grimball has a masters degree from GW. Donald Whitehead is a published author and Emmy winner. But both are homeless.

Grimball and Whitehead were the featured speakers Tuesday at a GW College Democrats and Amnesty International co-sponsored event called, "Faces of Homelessness Panel," just one of the events and activities the University hosted in recognition of National Hunger and Homelessness Week.

According to the organizer of the event, College Democrat Community Service Director Dietra Backup, Whitehead and Grimball's stories were emblematic of a growing problem in America.

"The main point of tonight was to dispel misconceptions," Backup said, "that homeless people aren't stupid and lazy. That's something we [students at GW], being very fortunate, don't always realize."

Grimball and Whitehead spent the evening telling their life stories, including how they ended up homeless.

After a divorce, Grimball was left with three children and not a lot of money. She decided to go back to school at GW for her master's in special education.

She had never worked before in her life, but after receiving her master's she ended up working in a DC school district advocating for students with disabilities and juevenile delinquents who were in trouble with the law. Grimball's talent for advocacy led her to take a job with a private law firm while still working for the school district. Grimball began to charge steep prices for her services. Business at the law firm was going so well that she quit her job in the school district, a decision she later realized was a big mistake.

Shortly thereafter, the law firm began to see less cases and decided to pay her less as a result. Grimball suddenly wasn't able to pay her rent and was kicked out of her apartment. She lived an anxiety-filled ten days on the streets, sleeping on a park bench, before finding another job at a home for the mentally ill, where she was the only caretaker employed but not paid the amount she had been promised. She decided to leave the poor working conditions in April 2010, but that meant she was once again homeless.

She finally found the courage to tell her now adult children her predicament. However, she did not receive the help and support from them she expected. They were "ashamed" that their mother had become homeless and upset she was hurting the "family's name," she said.

At this point, Grimball decided to go to a shelter, despite her past reluctance. From that day in April 2010 until the present day she has been living at the Open Door Emergency Shelter for Women in DC. At the shelter, Grimball has met many different women from all different backgrounds.

"It has been enlightening and it's been wonderful, as weird as that sounds," Grimball commented.

Grimball said she has found the love and support at the shelter that she did not receive from her children, adding that it built up her character.

Grimball quickly discovered that telling potential employers that she was homeless was not a good job strategy. This past summer, she found a job as a DC-appointed advocate for the mentally ill. She said she's glad to be back in the court room, but still cannot afford to rent or own a home and remains at the shelter.

Donald Whitehead grew up a straight-A student in Cincinnati, Ohio. Throughout his early education, and then at the University of Cincinnati, Whitehead continued to be kicked out of school due to an addiction illness. His addiction then led to him living under bridges. Whitehead learned about homeless shelters and soup kitchens from a couple of other homeless men.

The worst part about being homeless is that "no one would look you in the eye or say your name," Whitehead said. "It becomes very lonely when no one calls your name."

Whitehead's life turned around after he was named the outreach coordinator at the Cincinnati shelter where he was staying. From there, he became the director of the Cincinnati Coalition of the Homeless, and later the national chapter, before his current position working for a non-profit program in Orlando that works with homeless Veterans.

Whitehead also wrote a book based on his life story called "Most Unlikely to Succeed," and received a regional Emmy for his performance in the Showtime movie "Open The Sky."

Despite his success, Whitehead never forgot about the tough times he once had.

Whitehead demonstrated a penchant for theatrics. He started his speech wearing a black winter coat which was unzipped revealing a yellow plaid shirt and blue jeans. He wore dark black sun glasses and some black rags around his neck, accenting his long black hair. At the beginning of his presentation he only introduced himself as "Donald" and spoke in a very quiet voice that made the audience lean forward in their seats to hear him.

As the presentation went on, though, Whitehead's voice became increasingly louder as he told the part where his life improved at a shelter in Cincinnati. He took off his jacket to reveal the plaid shirt. Later, as he began to tell the audience that he had been the director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, he took off his jeans and plaid shirt to reveal that he was wearing a suit, followed by removing the sunglasses, rags and wig, revealing his true bald self. Whitehead told the audience that besides his affinity for acting, he "dressed-up" like a stereotypical homeless person to show how he looked when he was homeless and that anybody, even those who are smart, can become homeless.