2008 Woodie Awards
Young woman overcomes adversity on the streets
Amy Farnsworth
Issue date: 12/1/04 Section: News
Every day the homeless line the streets - some panhandle for money, others sell the newspaper "Spare Change." Some people wait on street corners in hopes for a bed for a night from the local shelter. As winter draws nearer, the fear of hypothermia becomes a reality for the homeless. With limited space in many shelters, a number of homeless people are left without a place to spend the night.
"I really needed blankets. The ground is cold and hard; you need something under you. I would get army blankets from shelters," said Crystal Evans, 23. "The stuff that people donated really helped me to survive. I would've died last winter."
Evans spent last winter on the streets of Boston and Cambridge. Evans' homelessness began in February of 2001, when she suffered injuries from a car accident that left her with a broken neck, a traumatic brain injury and a seizure disorder.
Her brain injury caused her to suffer from ataxia and vertigo, speech problems and short term memory loss.
The injuries made it hard for Evans to hold down a job, as she lost nine jobs in 16 months following the accident.
Without a job Evans couldn't obtain health insurance or benefits and without health insurance for her medication and rehab she was left with little money to survive on.
She applied for Medicaid and Social Security Disability in New Hampshire, but was asked to provide medical documentation of her injury. In order to receive the documentation for her case, she would need to have medical insurance. But without insurance, she said, she could not receive the proper documentation.
In the summer of 2002, Evans received a job and housing through a Section 8 voucher, but due to complications with her brain injury and rent, she became homeless again in February 2003.
Evans traveled to Massachusetts when she discovered the state offered free health care to low-income residents. She spent time at a shelter in Gloucester, Mass., but over time the shelter began to run out of beds.