From Homeless Person to Social Justice Activist by Wayne Mellinger
From Homeless Person to Social Justice Activist APRIL 20, 2021 Wayne Martin Mellinger, Ph.D. Until it happened to me, I didn’t think homeless people had it that bad. I’d often see them, carrying those enormous backpacks with sleeping rolls. It took me having my eyes opened up through first hand experiences before I really saw the suffering and actually got involved in social justice work. My journey through homelessness has given me the opportunity to confront horrible, ugly and unacceptable realities that were largely hidden from me prior to my becoming homeless. I have bipolar disorder and experience devastating episodes of major depression in which I lose the motivation to keep on going and can become suicidal and dysfunctional. To cope with these powerfully dark moods, I have self-medicated with illicit stimulants which elevate my spirits and make life seem worth living again. These challenges have led me to become homeless three times in the past 17 years, to repeatedly lose...