TEDGlobal 2009
Becky Blanton: The year I was homeless
Becky Blanton: Året hvor jeg var hjemløs
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Becky Blanton planlagde at bo i sin varevogn i et år, og se landet, men da depression ramte hende, og hendes freelance job sluttede, blev hendes camping tur til hjemløshed. I dette personlige foredrag beskriver hun sine oplevelser i forbindelse med at blive en af Amerikas arbejdende hjemløse.
Becky Blanton - Writer
Becky Blanton is a writer, photographer and former journalist who found herself homeless, but bounced back to tell her story and inspire others. Full bio
Becky Blanton is a writer, photographer and former journalist who found herself homeless, but bounced back to tell her story and inspire others. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:15
I'm a writer and a journalist,
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Jeg er forfatter og journalist,
00:18
and I'm also an insanely curious person,
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og jeg er en sindsygt nysgerrig person.
00:21
so in 22 years as a journalist,
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I mine 22 år som journalist
00:23
I've learned how to do a lot of new things.
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har jeg lært at gøre en masse nye ting.
00:25
And three years ago, one of the things I learned how to do
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Og for tre år siden, var en af de ting jeg lærte
00:28
was to become invisible.
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at blive usynlig.
00:31
I became one of the working homeless.
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Jeg blev en af de arbejdende hjemløse.
00:34
I quit my job as a newspaper editor
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Jeg sagde mit job op som redaktør på en avis
00:36
after my father died in February of that same year,
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efter at min far døde i februar det samme år,
00:40
and decided to travel.
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og besluttede mig for at rejse.
00:43
His death hit me pretty hard.
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Hans død tog hårdt på mig.
00:45
And there were a lot of things that I wanted to feel and deal with while I was doing that.
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Og der var en masse ting jeg ønskede at føle og behandle mens jeg havde det sådan.
00:49
I've camped my whole life. And I decided
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Jeg har camperet hele mit liv. Og besluttede
00:51
that living in a van for a year to do this
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at bo i en varevogn i et år, for at kunne gøre dette,
00:53
would be like one long camping trip.
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hvilket ville være som en lang camping tur.
00:55
So I packed my cat, my Rottweiler
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Så jeg pakkede min kat, min rottweiler,
00:58
and my camping gear into a 1975 Chevy van,
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og mit camping udstyr ind i en Chevy van fra 1975,
01:02
and drove off into the sunset,
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og kørte ud i solnedgangen,
01:04
having fully failed to realize three critical things.
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totalt uden at forstå tre vigtige ting.
01:08
One: that society equates
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1: At samfundet sætter lighedstegn ved det
01:10
living in a permanent structure, even a shack,
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at bo i en permanent bygning, selv et skur,
01:14
with having value as a person.
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lig med værdi for en person.
01:16
Two: I failed to realize how quickly
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2: Jeg forstod ikke hvor hurtigt
01:19
the negative perceptions of other people
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andre folks negative opfattelse
01:21
can impact our reality, if we let it.
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kan ændre ens virkelighed, hvis man lader den.
01:24
Three: I failed to realize
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3: Jeg forstod ikke
01:26
that homelessness is an attitude,
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at hjemløshed er en holdning,
01:28
not a lifestyle.
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ikke en livsstil.
01:31
At first, living in the van was great.
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I starten var det fantastisk at bo i varevognen.
01:33
I showered in campgrounds. I ate out regularly.
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Jeg badede på campingpladser. Jeg spise ofte ude.
01:36
And I had time to relax and to grieve.
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Og jeg havde tid til at slappe af og sørge.
01:40
But then the anger and the depression about my father's death set in.
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Men så kom vreden og depressionen over min fars død.
01:44
My freelance job ended. And I had to get a full-time job
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Mit freelance job endte. Og jeg blev nødt til at finde et fuldtids job
01:47
to pay the bills.
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for at kunne betale regningerne.
01:49
What had been a really mild spring
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Hvad der havde været et meget mildt forår
01:51
turned into a miserably hot summer.
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blev til en forfærdelig varm sommer.
01:53
And it became impossible to park anywhere --
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Og det blev umuligt at parkere nogen som helst steder --
01:55
(Laughs)
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(Latter)
01:56
-- without being very obvious
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-- uden at det blev meget tydeligt
01:58
that I had a cat and a dog with me, and it was really hot.
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at jeg havde en kat og en hund med mig, og det var virkelig varmt.
02:01
The cat came and went through an open window in the van.
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Katten kom og gik gennem et åbent vindue i varevognen.
02:04
The doggy went into doggy day care.
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Hunden kom i dagpleje.
02:06
And I sweated.
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Og jeg svedte.
02:08
Whenever I could, I used
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Når som helst jeg kunne, brugte jeg
02:10
employee showers in office buildings and truck stops.
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personalebrusbade i kontorbygninger og lastbilholdepladser.
02:14
Or I washed up in public rest rooms.
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Eller jeg vaskede mig på offentlige toiletter.
02:18
Nighttime temperatures in the van rarely dropped below 80 degrees Fahrenheit,
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Om natten faldt temperaturen sjældent til under 27 grader celsius,
02:21
making it difficult or impossible to sleep.
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hvilket gjorde det svært eller umuligt at sove.
02:24
Food rotted in the heat.
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Madvarer rådnede i varmen.
02:27
Ice in my ice chest melted within hours,
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Isen i min køleboks smeltede i løbet af få timer,
02:30
and it was pretty miserable.
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og det var meget sørgeligt.
02:38
I couldn't afford to find an apartment,
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Jeg havde ikke råd til at finde en lejlighed,
02:40
or couldn't afford an apartment that would allow me
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eller havde ikke råd til en lejlighed hvor det var tilladt
02:42
to have the Rottweiler and the cat.
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at have rottweileren og katten.
02:44
And I refused to give them up,
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Og jeg nægtede at forlade dem.
02:46
so I stayed in the van.
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Så jeg blev i varevognen.
02:52
And when the heat made me too sick
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Og da varmen gjorde mig for syg
02:54
to walk the 50 feet to the public restroom
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til at gå de 15 meter over til det offentlige toilet
02:57
outside my van at night,
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udenfor min varevogn om natten,
02:59
I used a bucket and a trash bag as a toilet.
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brugte jeg en spand og en pose som toilet.
03:02
When winter weather set in, the temperatures dropped
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Da vintervejret kom, faldt temperaturen
03:05
below freezing. And they stayed there.
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til under frysepunktet. Og den blev der.
03:07
And I faced a whole new set of challenges.
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Og jeg stod overfor et helt nyt sæt udfordringer.
03:12
I parked a different place every night
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Jeg parkerede forskellige steder hver nat
03:15
so I would avoid being noticed and hassled by the police.
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så jeg ville undgå at blive bemærket og chikaneret af politiet.
03:18
I didn't always succeed.
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Det lykkedes ikke altid.
03:20
But I felt out of control of my life.
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Men jeg følte mig ude af kontrol over mit liv.
03:27
And I don't know when or how it happened,
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Og jeg ved ikke hvad og hvornår det skete,
03:31
but the speed at which I went
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men den hastighed med hvilken jeg gik
03:33
from being a talented writer and journalist
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fra at være en talentfuld forfatter og journalist
03:36
to being a homeless woman, living in a van,
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til at blive en hjemløs kvinde, boende i en varevogn,
03:39
took my breath away.
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tog vejret fra mig.
03:41
I hadn't changed. My I.Q. hadn't dropped.
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Jeg havde ikke ændret mig. Min IQ var ikke faldet.
03:44
My talent, my integrity, my values,
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Mit talent, min integritet, mine overbevisninger,
03:50
everything about me remained the same.
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alting ved mig blev ved at være det samme.
03:53
But I had changed somehow.
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Men jeg havde alligevel ændret mig.
03:55
I spiraled deeper and deeper into a depression.
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Jeg sank dybere og dybere ind i depressionen.
03:58
And eventually someone referred me to a homeless health clinic.
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Og til sidst blev jeg henvist til en klinik for hjemløse.
04:01
And I went. I hadn't bathed in three days.
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Og jeg tog derhen. Jeg havde ikke fået et bad i tre dage.
04:04
I was as smelly and as depressed as anyone in line.
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Jeg var lige så lugtende og deprimeret som alle de andre.
04:08
I just wasn't drunk or high.
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Jeg var bare ikke fuld eller skæv.
04:11
And when several of the homeless men realized that,
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Og da flere af de hjemløse mænd fandt ud af dette,
04:14
including a former university professor,
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inklusive en tidligere universitets professor,
04:16
they said, "You aren't homeless. Why are you really here?"
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sagde de: "Du er ikke hjemløs. Hvorfor er du her?"
04:20
Other homeless people didn't see me as homeless,
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Andre hjemløse folk så mig ikke som hjemløs,
04:22
but I did.
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men det gjorde jeg.
04:25
Then the professor listened to my story and he said,
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Så lyttede professoren til min historie, og han sagde:
04:29
"You have a job. You have hope.
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"Du har et job. Du har håb.
04:32
The real homeless don't have hope."
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De rigtigt hjemløse har ikke noget håb."
04:36
A reaction to the medication the clinic gave me for my depression
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Den medicin klinikken gav mig for min depression
04:39
left me suicidal. And I remember thinking,
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gav mig selvmordstanker. Og jeg husker at jeg tænkte
04:41
"If I killed myself, no one would notice."
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"Hvis jeg begår selvmord vil ingen opdage det."
04:52
A friend told me, shortly after that,
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En ven fortalte mig kort efter
04:57
that she had heard that Tim Russert,
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at hun havde hørt at Tim Russert,
04:59
a nationally renowned journalist,
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en nationalt anerkendt journalist
05:01
had been talking about me on national T.V.
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havde snakket om mig på nationalt TV.
05:03
An essay I'd written about my father,
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Et essay jeg havde skrevet om min far,
05:05
the year before he died, was in Tim's new book.
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året før han døde, var kommet med i Tims nye bog.
05:09
And he was doing the talk show circuit. And he was talking about my writing.
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Og han var på talk show turné. Og han snakkede om min skrivning.
05:12
And when I realized that Tim Russert, former moderator of "Meet the Press,"
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Og da jeg indså at Tim Russert, en tidligere redaktør hos Meet the Press,
05:16
was talking about my writing,
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snakkede om min skrivning,
05:18
while I was living in a van in a Wal-Mart parking lot,
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mens jeg boede i en varevogn på en Wal-Mart parkeringsplads,
05:20
I started laughing.
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begyndte jeg at grine.
05:22
You should too.
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Det burde I også gøre.
05:24
(Laughter)
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(Latter)
05:25
I started laughing
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Jeg begyndte at grine
05:27
because it got to the point where,
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fordi det var kommet til det punkt hvor:
05:29
was I a writer, or was I a homeless woman?
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var jeg en forfatter, eller var jeg en hjemløs kvinde?
05:32
So I went in the bookstore. And I found Tim's book.
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Så jeg tog hen til boghandlen. Og jeg fandt Tims bog.
05:35
And I stood there. And I reread my essay.
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Og jeg stod der. Og jeg genlæste mit essay.
05:38
And I cried.
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Og jeg græd.
05:40
Because I was a writer.
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Fordi jeg var en forfatter.
05:43
I was a writer.
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Jeg var en forfatter.
05:45
Shortly after that I moved back to Tennessee.
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Kort derefter flyttede jeg tilbage til Tennessee.
05:48
I alternated between living in a van and couch surfing with friends.
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Jeg skiftedes mellem at bo i varevognen og sove på venners sofaer.
05:51
And I started writing again.
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Og jeg startede med at skrive igen.
05:54
By the summer of the following year I was a working journalist.
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I sommeren det efterfølgende år var jeg i arbejde som journalist.
05:57
I was winning awards. I was living in my own apartment.
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Jeg vandt priser. Jeg boede i min egen lejlighed.
06:00
I was no longer homeless.
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Jeg var ikke længere hjemløs.
06:02
And I was no longer invisible.
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Og jeg var ikke længere usynlig.
06:05
Thousands of people work full and part-time jobs,
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Tusinder af folk har fuldtids og deltids arbejde,
06:08
and live in their cars.
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og bor i deres biler.
06:10
But society continues to stigmatize and criminalize
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Men samfundet fortsætter med at stigmatisere og kriminalisere
06:13
living in your vehicle or on the streets.
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at bo i sit køretøj eller på gaden.
06:16
So the homeless, the working homeless, primarily remain invisible.
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Så de hjemløse, de arbejdende hjemløse, forsætter med at være usynlige.
06:20
But if you ever meet one,
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Men hvis du nogensinde møder en,
06:22
engage them, encourage them, and offer them hope.
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kontakt dem, opmunter dem, og giv dem håb.
06:26
The human spirit can overcome anything if it has hope.
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Det menneskelige sind kan overvinde alt hvis der er håb.
06:31
And I'm not here to be the poster girl for the homeless.
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Og jeg er ikke her for at være plakatpige for de hjemløse.
06:33
I'm not here to encourage you to give money to the next panhandler you meet.
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Jeg er her ikke for at opfordre til at du giver penge til den næste tigger du møder.
06:36
But I am here to tell you that, based on my experience,
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Men jeg er her for at fortælle, baseret på mine oplevelser,
06:39
people are not where they live,
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at folk ikke ér hvor de bo,
06:42
where they sleep,
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hvor de sover,
06:44
or what their life situation is at any given time.
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eller hvad deres livssituation er på et given tidspunkt.
06:49
Three years ago I was living in a van
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For tre år siden boede jeg en en varevogn
06:52
in a Wal-Mart parking lot,
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på en Wal-Mart parkeringsplads.
06:54
and today I'm speaking at TED.
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Og i dag er jeg foredragsholder hos TED.
06:57
Hope always, always finds a way. Thank you.
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Håb finder altid, altid vej. Tak.
07:02
(Applause)
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(Klapsalver)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Becky Blanton - WriterBecky Blanton is a writer, photographer and former journalist who found herself homeless, but bounced back to tell her story and inspire others.
Why you should listen
Primarily, Becky Blanton is a writer. She was a journalist for more than 22 years, working as a reporter, photojournalist and editor. Today, she is best known for her independent writing. Tim Russert selected her essay "The Monster," to be included in his last book, Wisdom of Our Fathers. On the heels of this success, Becky won a competition held by Dan Pink to come up with an additional lesson for his bestselling book The Adventures of Johnny Bunko. The prize was admission to TEDGlobal 2009, where she gave a talk on her personal journey through homelessness.
Blanton is now working on her first book, to be titled Staying Hungry, the Official Guide for Never Settling for What Life Puts on Your Plate, as well as a second about how her dog saved her life while she was homeless. The proceeds from the second book will be donated to The Humane Society. Blanton also continues to blog and post photos from her adventures at beckyblanton.com
Becky Blanton | Speaker | TED.com