Remembering Mollie…
Remembering Mollie Lowery
Mollie Lowery passed away on July 25, 2016. Join us in remembering our fierce leader and constant advocate for people experiencing homelessness.
Mollie's Story (and Michael's)
By Michael Kearns
“We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth.”
We are all experiencing homelessness. “Experiencing” homelessness, in its evenly toned use of language, avoids accusation or permanence. The equivalent might be “experiencing a fit of jealousy” in which you lose it but you’ll pull it together after some breathing exercises and writing a haiku. Words are important.
How they are placed, in what order and how many, create meaning which can ameliorate a situation or utterly destroy it. Words—whether spoken or written, whispered or shouted, sung or typed—convey emotion; they express feelings which, when thrown in the same vessel, are often labeled as art in the form of a play. Or Spoken Word performance. Or simply keeping a Diary, recording memories in a Memoir; getting bubbling emotions on paper.
Housing Works believes that art works. Writing works. Flashback to the winter of 2002 when all of us were consumed with finding meaning in the catastrophic 9/11 attacks. Mollie Lowery, still ensconced at LAMP Community, saw my full-length play, Complications, at Highways Performance Space. Something about the way a theatrical presentation in which emotion runs full steam ahead without being interrupted by an array of facts appealed to Mollie and she asked me to visit her at LAMP.
We had met (I’d already done a few classes at LAMP that she had approved) but this was a more formal meeting with Skid Row Royalty and I was honored. Mollie was intent upon bringing more artistic practices to Skid Row. Fifteen years later, I am part of the Housing Works fabric, fulfilling her desire: to discover methodology which serves those experiencing homelessness through artistic expression. And look at the output of Andy Ledesma (see accompanying article) who is using his arsenal of artistic tools by teaching very specific modalities that focus on the individual’s personal story.
And yet, let’s be honest. Art as a conduit to solve the widespread homelessness about which everyone in L.A. has an opinion? It’s a challenging idea but one should be open to the power that results from human beings being allowed to express themselves; this is without question a component of healing. And requires a financial base which is not always available to us. Consider that it may be as nourishing to give someone a paint brush as it is to give them a piece of pizza.
Housing Works has decidedly made strides in the artistic community. We have been granted by the L.A. Cultural Affairs Department and the California Arts Council which provided support for two endeavors which zeroed in on the precariousness of being released from the prison system with virtually no place to reconfigure, to heal, to be heard (see accompanying pictures on page 6).
The fact that we have received grants to do this critical work—to make art happen and cement that critical mindset in our mission—is spectacular.
Mollie would be proud.
Celina Alvarez, Housing Works' Executive Director, had this to say about her late mentor:
“She realized that there was a whole population of human beings that were being pushed into the far margins of skid row,” Alvarez said, “and so she ventured into those margins alongside those folks.”
“As harsh as the streets could be, this woman could walk down the streets of skid row, and everybody would just come out from every tent and every corner and … tell her they loved her.”
Housing Works continues to honor Mollie's legacy.
Currently, we partner with housing developers in nine single site apartment buildings where we provide on-site intensive supportive services to residents.
Housing Works is currently serving 650 households in either a single or scattered site setting, with a handful currently navigating off the streets and into housing.
