Flagstaff, Florida (WTXL) – If you look closely as you drive near the intersection of Gaines Street and Railroad Avenue, you might see the blankets and buggies that some people call home. But if you miss them, a community activist has come up with a way to make Flagstaff homelessness a little more visible.
“I have seven bottles of water, I have four rolls of toilet paper, I have some sanitary wipes and some hand sanitizer, and no food,” says local artist Nik Rye.
Rye locked herself behind that window in The Plant on Gaines Street, in thin walls covered with journal entries, the way it felt when she was once homeless, and could count on people to eat through them every day Donate drawer to eat. She hopes that when people feed her they will see the greater need, “because this is a performance,” she says, “but in real life we watch people who have no food or are in jail for things.”
This reality hits Raymond Myers, who often sleeps nearby.
“If you have a charge on your file, no one wants to touch you with a 10-foot pole, give you a job, or give you a chance.”
Plant board member Donna Coterell believes the project will open eyes “because it’s okay to stare,” she says.
“We don’t like to stare. It’s rude and some people have never interacted with the homeless. So this is your chance to interact, ask questions and almost get a feel for what it’s like to live without being on the street “says Coterell.
An experience Rye hopes will “highlight the feelings people have. If they can emphasize with me, they should be able to empathize with other people we have forgotten.”
Rye will be living in The Plant window until February 15th.
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