The following is an interview I did with Genevieve Cochran, who was volunteering with Anawim Christian Community in North Portland, Oregon. 

Genevieve Cochran was a volunteer with Anwaim Christian Community for the last two and a half years. Genevieve has recently moved from Oregon to Tennessee where she will live and take care of her son who is in renal failure.

I had a chance to interview Genevieve, while riding in her van on our way to help her prepare for her move. Genevieve's van has worked just as hard as she has over the last two and a half years.

For the last two and a half years, Genevieve spent 8-10 hours a week traveling in the van as she volunteered with Anawim Christian Community.  "It's an old beater," Genevieve said, "but it has done a fabulous job for us and gotten food to people who need it: both in St. Johns and Gresham and carrying maybe 800 lbs. a week from the food bank to the Church. Considering it is 25 years old, it is amazing." "Us elderlies are doing well,” she finished saying laughingly.

Genevieve became involved with Anawim through Timothy and Samantha Childress when they were serving sandwiches and bottled water to the homeless community, at a park in St. Johns. At that time, Genevieve was living in Washington State and following them on Facebook. One morning she woke up in Washington and heard God saying, “O.K. you've been following these folks for over a year, it's time for you to get off your duff.” That is just what she did.

Genevieve picked up her life in Washington and moved down to Oregon to volunteer with Anawim.  Genevieve began bringing additional food to go with the sandwiches, and when the cold weather hit, Genevieve began bringing hot soup.

Genevieve also spent hours volunteering with Anawim in Gresham, getting the clothing closet off the ground.

She is a constant in our society and continuously taking care of others. I asked Genevieve, you take care of everyone else, who takes care of you? "God" she said in a quiet tearful voice.

Genevieve’s photo-story coming this month on Media Mary's Blog on the Anawim Website

http://anawimcc.org/blogs/visual-journalism-blog/

Photo and Interview by Mary Anne Funk. 

2015 | Interview with Genevieve Cochran | Anawim Christian Community Volunteer

Artful Journey of Life is an ethnographic documentary about how one man used his art to overcome his addictions and homelessness. For Harry, his art is what kept him alive and is his way out of the situation he's in.

In this audio interview, Harry talks about his addiction to meth and the devastation and destruction it possesses. He talks about his darkest hour and about his emotional state on the day that I met him.

To learn more about Harry and the ethnographic documentary, Artful Journey of life, go to : http://www.artfuljourneyoflife.com


Read more at http://maryannefunk.libsyn.com/artful-journey-of-life-the-devastation-of-meth#T8rq4QgFCKT7dphj.99

Artful Journey of Life | Devastation and destruction of meth  by Mary - Anne - Funk

Sean is a resident at Hazelnut Grove, an organized homeless camp in North Portland, Oregon. For Sean, Hazelnut Grove has provided a step up from when he was sleeping on benches and under bridges. It has provided a place for Sean to be part of a community where he feels safe and secure. Being a part of Hazelnut Grove has opened the door for Sean to find a job with Green Cab through a community volunteer who he met at Hazelnut Grove.

On February 15, 2016, I interviewed Sean while riding with him when he dropped off a client at the airport.

This interview took place in the cab along the way.

A Step Up | Interview With Sean

Mary Anne Funk and Barrett Ross sit down for an interview in his RV. Barrett is living in an RV along the streets of Portland, Oregon. In this episode, he talks about living in the RV, the ups and downs he faces living in the RVs, the work he is doing with Portland Tenant's United and the hopes he has for the city and how the city treats people living in their RVs along the street.

What Happens Next Life In An RV An Interview With Barrett Ross By Mary Anne Funk 02

Foodie Kingdom Radio Edit

Filmmaker Reflections by Mary Anne Funk. 

- Begin
It’s hard to believe he is the same man who stood on the corner of 5th and Taylor, sketching a city scape on top of a newspaper stand that no longer exists on that corner

It’s hard to believe that he is the same man who stood there in a ripped coat, no teeth and just coming off of the streets after being on and off of them for over 25 years.

It’s hard to believe that he was a man who lost all hope, a man who decided to take his own life, although I didn't know it at that time.

When Harry and I sat down to talk about how much his life had changed since the first time we met in 2009, he told me that I was angel sent by God on the day. Perhaps he’s right. He told me, that on that day that we met, he had already contemplated suicide. He purchased the pills and planned the day and where he was going to take his own life. 

It was his intention he told me to tell me a few things on the first day that we met and that he only told me I could come back to interview him some more because he didn't think that I would ever come back.  It was never his intention to go beyond that day with me and it was never his intention to live beyond the two weeks after we met on the corner of 5th and Taylor. But he said something changed. He said, I continued to come back and every time I said I would be there, I was there and the more that I came back the more he began to realize that his life mattered. He said that I showed him that there was somebody in this world who cared enough to know that he existed and who didn’t have any expectations from him.

He went on to tell me that the more that I came back, the more he began to feel that his life had value and he began to see that there was a bigger picture and he began to have a hope for something more.

Harry has told me, that we are all on the same journey called life, we are just on different paths getting there.

I am so thankful that as we each walked along our own path, that our life’s journey connected and on that day, we were brought together. I am so thankful that as our time and journey progressed, that something changed within Harry, that he began to see the value he has in our society, the gift that he had to give to the world around him, his art.

I spent a year with Harry, filming where he slept along the streets of Portland, Oregon, learning about the steps he had taken to overcome his addictions and homelessness.

In that year, I saw a man transform before my eyes. A man who reconnected with a mother, who he had not seen in over eight years. A man who reconnected with a sister who never stopped looking for him and who never gave up hope that she would see her brother again. 

I saw a man who went from being uncertain to a man who had hope. A man who’s hope brought him to where he is today.

His art is what helped him to survive and was his way out of his situation that he was in. Through his art and through his experiences, he has helped others overcome their addictions and through his art he has found a way to reach others. 

It's now 2017, eight years has passed since we first met on the corner of 5th Taylor. His story has aired, and our lives moved on. There have been ups and downs for both us in our life's journey and at times there have been moments in which we fell out of touch and moments that were rocky between the both of us, yet through it all, a bond that formed eight years ago has remained and our friendship has endured. 

Harry is no longer sketching on the corner of 5th and Taylor and his years on the streets and his addictions have taken a toll on his body. Harry has been diagnosed with stage four liver cancer and his time left on this earth is uncertain. Although it may feel like it, this really is neither the beginning nor the end of Harry’s story. Just a moment on his path in this journey of his life.
- End

Peace and Love,
Mary Anne Funk

Filmmakers - Reflection by Mary Anne Funk

The following sounds are samples from around Oregon recorded in spatial audio.

20181113 NW19th and NW Everett_02.WAV

Solo bongo drummer with street sounds and the Max
Location: SE 122nd Max Station
Portland, Oregon
Drummer: James
Spatial Audio Recorder

Oregon - Sound - Journey 01

Mary Anne Funk is a visual anthropologist, audio ethnographer and documentary photographer focused on the human condition.  

She is in the beginning stages of this podcast. Her podcast focuses on: 
Redefining our perceptions of homelessness and poverty
Community Caring

She seeks to open dialogue and understanding through the stories of individuals who are homeless and part of the working poor community.

Mary Anne Funk

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