A daughter, a mother, a Navy veteran, and a Hello Kitty enthusiast, Bobbie Lynn is every woman — and her own woman. She has also been homeless off and on for the past 11 years. Triggered by the death of her second husband, she has struggled to stabilize her life since his passing.
After spending eight years living on and off in one of our largest local encampments, she was placed in the tiny home village in Harbor City two years ago. After two years, and even though all her paperwork had been submitted for permanent housing, no further action was being taken to get her transitioned into a place of her own. Luckily, Bobbie heard about the Inside Safe program and decided to participate. Here’s Bobbie’s story.
Where did you grow up?
Bobbie: I was a local kid. We lived in Torrance. I went to Fern, Madrona, and then Torrance High.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
I really wanted to be a social worker, but thought I could maybe do something in the medical field. I liked the idea of being able to help people.
What circumstances led to you becoming homeless?
Bobbie Lynn. (photo: Tammy Khan)
My second husband died about 11 years ago. We were married for 16 years. I tried to stay in our place but wasn’t able to manage the rent. I started to sleep outside the apartment building. With every passing day, living on the street became more of a reality.
While living in a local encampment, I got pregnant with my fourth child. I landed in jail. That whole experience was long-lasting anguish. I had an emergency c-section while in jail, and it all went horribly wrong. There were several complications during and after he was born, many of which we are still dealing with today.
My son has been living with my parents, and I’m thankful for their help and support every day, but I want to have my son living with me, and I can’t until I find permanent housing. My parents are getting older, and my son needs extra support because of health problems. Being housed means getting my son back permanently. Every time I see him, he asks, “Mom, when can I come live with you?”
How would you describe the feeling of homelessness to someone who has never had that experience?
Lonely. So much happens to you and around you, and you just can’t find a way out.
In your experience, what’s the most significant change on a large level that needs to happen?
People. People who put words to action. I met Shari Weaver with Harbor Interfaith about eight years ago. She’s looked out for me, helped me figure out what I need to get housed. I haven’t always been willing to accept the help, but she never stopped caring.
Lila (currently with the City of Redondo Beach) and Gina (formerly with Harbor Interfaith) are also amazing humans. They brought me food, other things I might need. They made sure all my paperwork was in order and ready when housing was available. They told me about the new Inside Safe program, and I decided to participate. I knew I would lose all of my stuff, but if it meant getting a place where I could bring my son, then it would be worth it.
We need more case workers, better communication, more people working together. It’s really frustrating, and we aren’t always in the best position to make things happen for ourselves. We need someone who understands the systems to be our advocate.
What is something we all can do to help?
Don’t treat us like we’re not human. We’re already struggling, then officials come around and throw our stuff out in the name of trying to keep the area “clean,” and it just breaks our spirit. Even if the area is [already] clean, it seems like they find a reason to “clean” the area, like they are laughing at us.
Most of us are survivors; we can adapt to pretty much anything. We’ve had to. We just wish more people would work with us rather than against us. It’s already a struggle to live when you have nothing. The few things we do manage to keep [give] us hope that one day, we will have a home of our own where we can keep it all.
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Advocates. Working with the unhoused, I’ve seen the difference a strong advocate can make in the lives of our homeless neighbors.
Last month, a dear friend contacted me after seeing a young man experiencing homelessness at the beach. She brought him some food and checked on him. She reached out to find local resources to check on him. She treated him respectfully and led with compassion and curiosity rather than judgment — pretty powerful stuff.
I’ll use this space today to thank Shari, Lila, Gina, and all of the official and unofficial advocates for being our superheroes. For doing what others cannot or will not. For going beyond every day and giving us hope that each of us has the capacity to improve conditions for one person, bit by bit.
I encourage anyone who wants to get more involved — or simply stay updated on this work in our community — to reach out to Harbor Connects, info@harborconnects.org, to stay in the loop. spt
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