Getting to Know Each Other in Winston-Salem

Donald Hudson and Noblake Taylor met for the first time outside MobileBooth East, ten minutes before they recorded a StoryCorps interview. An appointment had opened up at the last moment, and I had invited them to fill it.

Though they had just met, they had some important things in common, including the fact that they are both homeless.

“How long have you been homeless?” Donald (L) asked Noblake (R). Noblake answered that he began living on the streets in 2002, after being incarcerated for nine years. Many of the family members he was close to have passed away.

Donald’s story is a bit different. “I had to get some eye surgery. I continuously went to see doctors and couldn’t work. I lost my job.” Donald also went through a divorce and left his house to his children and ex-wife, he said. “I’ve always told my ex-wife and my children that I would be homeless before I would allow them to suffer.” (more…)