TEDGlobal 2009
Becky Blanton: The year I was homeless
Becky Blanton: Viti qe une isha e pastrehe
Filmed:
Readability: 3.9
1,278,615 views
Becky Blanton planifikoi te jetonte ne furgonin e saj per nje vit dhe te shihte vendin, por kur depresioni e pershkoi dhe puna e saj e pavarur perfundoi, kampingu i saj u kthyen ne pastrehje. Ne kete fjalim intim, ajo pershkruan eksperiencen e saj te te kthyerit nje nder punetoret e pastrehe te Amerikes.
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,
0
0
3000
Une jam nje shkrimtare dhe gazetare,
00:18
and I'm also an insanely curious person,
1
3000
3000
por jam gjithashtu nje person kurioz i cmendur,
00:21
so in 22 years as a journalist,
2
6000
2000
keshtu qe ne 22 vitet e mia si gazetare,
00:23
I've learned how to do a lot of new things.
3
8000
2000
kam mesuar sesi te bej nje sere gjerash.
00:25
And three years ago, one of the things I learned how to do
4
10000
3000
Dhe para tre viteve, nje nga gjerat qe mesova sesi ta bej
00:28
was to become invisible.
5
13000
3000
eshte te kthehesha e padukshme.
00:31
I became one of the working homeless.
6
16000
3000
Une u ktheva ne nje nga punetoret e pastrehe.
00:34
I quit my job as a newspaper editor
7
19000
2000
Une lashe punen time si redaktore gazete
00:36
after my father died in February of that same year,
8
21000
4000
pas vdekjes se tim ati ne shkurtin e te njejtit vit,
00:40
and decided to travel.
9
25000
3000
dhe vendosa te udhetoj.
00:43
His death hit me pretty hard.
10
28000
2000
Vdekja e tij me preku shume.
00:45
And there were a lot of things that I wanted to feel and deal with while I was doing that.
11
30000
4000
Dhe kishte shume gjera qe une doja te ndjeja dhe te merresha nderkohe qe une po e beja kete.
00:49
I've camped my whole life. And I decided
12
34000
2000
Une kam ngritur kampe gjate gjithe jetes time. Ndaj une vendosa
00:51
that living in a van for a year to do this
13
36000
2000
qe te jetoja ne nje furgon per nje vit
00:53
would be like one long camping trip.
14
38000
2000
do te ishte si nje udhetim i gjate kampimi.
00:55
So I packed my cat, my Rottweiler
15
40000
3000
Keshtu qe paketova macen time, Rottweilerin tim
00:58
and my camping gear into a 1975 Chevy van,
16
43000
4000
dhe veshjen time te kampingut ne nje furgon Chevy te 1975,
01:02
and drove off into the sunset,
17
47000
2000
dhe e drejtova drejt muzgut,
01:04
having fully failed to realize three critical things.
18
49000
4000
duke deshtuar plotesisht ne realizimin e tri gjerave kritike.
01:08
One: that society equates
19
53000
2000
Se pari: barazine shoqerore e
01:10
living in a permanent structure, even a shack,
20
55000
4000
te jetuarit ne nje strukture te perhershme, madje edhe ne nje kasolle,
01:14
with having value as a person.
21
59000
2000
dhe me te paturit vlera si person.
01:16
Two: I failed to realize how quickly
22
61000
3000
Se dyti: Une deshtova ne realizimin sesa shpejte
01:19
the negative perceptions of other people
23
64000
2000
perceptimi negativ i personave te tjere
01:21
can impact our reality, if we let it.
24
66000
3000
mund te kete ndikim ne realitetin tone, nese ne e lejojme kete.
01:24
Three: I failed to realize
25
69000
2000
Se treti: Une deshtova ne realizimin
01:26
that homelessness is an attitude,
26
71000
2000
se te qenit i pastrehe eshte nje qendrim,
01:28
not a lifestyle.
27
73000
3000
dhe jo nje menyre jetese.
01:31
At first, living in the van was great.
28
76000
2000
Ne fillim, te jetuarit ne furgon ishte shume mire.
01:33
I showered in campgrounds. I ate out regularly.
29
78000
3000
Une lahesha ne vendim e kampingut. Une haja rregullisht.
01:36
And I had time to relax and to grieve.
30
81000
4000
Dhe une kisha kohe per te pushuar dhe per tu brengosur.
01:40
But then the anger and the depression about my father's death set in.
31
85000
4000
Por kur zemerimi dhe depresioni per vdekjen e babait tim u largua.
01:44
My freelance job ended. And I had to get a full-time job
32
89000
3000
Puna ime e pavarur mori fund. Dhe une duhej te filloja nje pune me kohe te plote
01:47
to pay the bills.
33
92000
2000
per te paguar faturat.
01:49
What had been a really mild spring
34
94000
2000
Ajo cfare kishte qene nje pranvere e bute
01:51
turned into a miserably hot summer.
35
96000
2000
u shnderrua ne nje vere te nxehte te mjere.
01:53
And it became impossible to park anywhere --
36
98000
2000
Dhe ishte e pamundur qe te parkoje kudo --
01:55
(Laughs)
37
100000
1000
(Qeshje)
01:56
-- without being very obvious
38
101000
2000
-- pa qene shume e dukshme
01:58
that I had a cat and a dog with me, and it was really hot.
39
103000
3000
dhe une kisha nje qen dhe nje mace me vete, dhe ishte me te vertete shume nxehte.
02:01
The cat came and went through an open window in the van.
40
106000
3000
Macja erdhi dhe shkoi neper nje dritare te hapur te furgonit.
02:04
The doggy went into doggy day care.
41
109000
2000
Qeni shkoi ne kujdesin e qenve.
02:06
And I sweated.
42
111000
2000
Dhe une djersita.
02:08
Whenever I could, I used
43
113000
2000
Kudo qe te mundesha, une perdorja
02:10
employee showers in office buildings and truck stops.
44
115000
4000
dushin e punonjesve ne ndertesat e zyrave dhe ne ndalesat e kamioneve.
02:14
Or I washed up in public rest rooms.
45
119000
4000
Ose lahesha ne banjot publike.
02:18
Nighttime temperatures in the van rarely dropped below 80 degrees Fahrenheit,
46
123000
3000
Temperaturat ne furgon gjate nates rralle uleshin nen 80 grade Fahrenheit,
02:21
making it difficult or impossible to sleep.
47
126000
3000
duke e bere te veshtire ose te pamundur per te fjetur.
02:24
Food rotted in the heat.
48
129000
3000
Ushqimi prishej ne nxehtesi
02:27
Ice in my ice chest melted within hours,
49
132000
3000
akulli ne kraharorin tim te akullt shkrihej brenda oreve,
02:30
and it was pretty miserable.
50
135000
8000
dhe kjo ishte shume e mjerueshme.
02:38
I couldn't afford to find an apartment,
51
143000
2000
Une smund ta perballoje per te gjetur nje apartament,
02:40
or couldn't afford an apartment that would allow me
52
145000
2000
ose smund te perballoja nje apartament qe mund te me lejonte mua
02:42
to have the Rottweiler and the cat.
53
147000
2000
qe te kisha Rottweilerin dhe macen.
02:44
And I refused to give them up,
54
149000
2000
Dhe une refuzova qe ti lija ato,
02:46
so I stayed in the van.
55
151000
6000
keshtu qe qendrova ne furgon.
02:52
And when the heat made me too sick
56
157000
2000
Dhe kur nxehtesia me semuri mua shume
02:54
to walk the 50 feet to the public restroom
57
159000
3000
saqe eca 50 metra jashte furgonit tim per te shkuar ne banjot publike
02:57
outside my van at night,
58
162000
2000
gjate nates.
02:59
I used a bucket and a trash bag as a toilet.
59
164000
3000
Une perdorja nje kove dhe nje qese plehrash si banjo.
03:02
When winter weather set in, the temperatures dropped
60
167000
3000
Kur dimri erdhi, temperaturat u ulen
03:05
below freezing. And they stayed there.
61
170000
2000
nen zero. Dhe ato qendruan aty.
03:07
And I faced a whole new set of challenges.
62
172000
5000
Dhe une u perballa me nje sere sfidash te reja.
03:12
I parked a different place every night
63
177000
3000
Une parkoja ne vende te ndryshme cdo nate
03:15
so I would avoid being noticed and hassled by the police.
64
180000
3000
ne menyre qe te shmangesha pa u vene re dhe pa bere debat me policet.
03:18
I didn't always succeed.
65
183000
2000
Por jo gjithnje kish sukses.
03:20
But I felt out of control of my life.
66
185000
7000
Por une ndihesha sikur isha jashte kontrollit te jetes time.
03:27
And I don't know when or how it happened,
67
192000
4000
Dhe une nuk e di se kur ose sesi ndodhi,
03:31
but the speed at which I went
68
196000
2000
por shpejtesia me te cilen kalova
03:33
from being a talented writer and journalist
69
198000
3000
nga nje shkrimtare dhe gazetare e talentuar
03:36
to being a homeless woman, living in a van,
70
201000
3000
ne nje grua te pastrehe, duke jetuar ne furgon,
03:39
took my breath away.
71
204000
2000
me mori frymen.
03:41
I hadn't changed. My I.Q. hadn't dropped.
72
206000
3000
Une nuk kisha ndryshuar. Koeficinti i inteligjencen time nuk kishte rene.
03:44
My talent, my integrity, my values,
73
209000
6000
Talenti im, integriteti im, vlerat e mia,
03:50
everything about me remained the same.
74
215000
3000
cdo gje rreth meje mbeti e njejte.
03:53
But I had changed somehow.
75
218000
2000
Por une nje nje fare menyre kam ndryshuar.
03:55
I spiraled deeper and deeper into a depression.
76
220000
3000
Une kalova thelle e me thelle ne depresion.
03:58
And eventually someone referred me to a homeless health clinic.
77
223000
3000
Dhe dikush me drejtoi mua ne nje klinike shendeti per te pastrehet.
04:01
And I went. I hadn't bathed in three days.
78
226000
3000
Dhe une shkova. Une kisha tre dite qe nuk isha lare.
04:04
I was as smelly and as depressed as anyone in line.
79
229000
4000
Une mbaja ere dhe isha me e depresionuar se asnje tjeter ne rradhe.
04:08
I just wasn't drunk or high.
80
233000
3000
Une vetem nuk isha e dehur ose e pire.
04:11
And when several of the homeless men realized that,
81
236000
3000
Dhe kur qindra burra te pastrehe arriten ta kuptonin,
04:14
including a former university professor,
82
239000
2000
duke perfshire edhe nje ish proferor universiteti
04:16
they said, "You aren't homeless. Why are you really here?"
83
241000
4000
thane, "Ti nuk je nje e pastrehe. Pse ndodhesh ti ketu?"
04:20
Other homeless people didn't see me as homeless,
84
245000
2000
Te pastrehet e tjere nuk me shihnin mua si nje te pastrehe,
04:22
but I did.
85
247000
3000
por une po.
04:25
Then the professor listened to my story and he said,
86
250000
4000
Me pas profesori degjoi historine time dhe tha,
04:29
"You have a job. You have hope.
87
254000
3000
"Ti ke nje pune. Ti ke shprese.
04:32
The real homeless don't have hope."
88
257000
4000
Te pastrehet e vertete nuk kane shprese."
04:36
A reaction to the medication the clinic gave me for my depression
89
261000
3000
Reagimi ndaj ilaceve qe klinika me dha mua per depresionin
04:39
left me suicidal. And I remember thinking,
90
264000
2000
me conte mua ne vetvrasje. Dhe une mbaj mend qe mendoja,
04:41
"If I killed myself, no one would notice."
91
266000
5000
"Nese une vras veten, asnje nuk do ta ve re."
04:52
A friend told me, shortly after that,
92
277000
5000
Nje mikja ime, pak pas kesaj me tha qe,
04:57
that she had heard that Tim Russert,
93
282000
2000
kish degjuar qe Tim Russert,
04:59
a nationally renowned journalist,
94
284000
2000
nje gazetar i njohur ne shkalle kombetare,
05:01
had been talking about me on national T.V.
95
286000
2000
kish qene duke folur rreth meje ne TV kombetare.
05:03
An essay I'd written about my father,
96
288000
2000
Nje ese qe une kisha shkruar per babain tim,
05:05
the year before he died, was in Tim's new book.
97
290000
4000
vitin para se ai te vdiste, ndodhej ne librin e ri te Tim.
05:09
And he was doing the talk show circuit. And he was talking about my writing.
98
294000
3000
Dhe ai ishte duke paraqitur librin e tij. Dhe ai ishte duke folur rreth shkrimit tim.
05:12
And when I realized that Tim Russert, former moderator of "Meet the Press,"
99
297000
4000
Dhe kur kuptova qe Tim Russert, ish moderatori i "Meet the Press,"
05:16
was talking about my writing,
100
301000
2000
ishte duke folur rreth shkrimit tim,
05:18
while I was living in a van in a Wal-Mart parking lot,
101
303000
2000
kur une isha duke jetuar ne furgon ne parkingun e Wal - Mart,
05:20
I started laughing.
102
305000
2000
une fillova te qesh.
05:22
You should too.
103
307000
2000
Ju duhet gjithashtu te qeshni.
05:24
(Laughter)
104
309000
1000
(Qeshje)
05:25
I started laughing
105
310000
2000
Une fillova te qesh
05:27
because it got to the point where,
106
312000
2000
sepse arrita ne piken per te kuptuar,
05:29
was I a writer, or was I a homeless woman?
107
314000
3000
nese une isha nje shkrimtare apo isha nje grua e pastrehe?
05:32
So I went in the bookstore. And I found Tim's book.
108
317000
3000
Keshtu qe une shkova ne librari. Dhe gjeta librin e Timit.
05:35
And I stood there. And I reread my essay.
109
320000
3000
Dhe qendrova atje. Dhe rilexova esene time.
05:38
And I cried.
110
323000
2000
Dhe fillova te qaj.
05:40
Because I was a writer.
111
325000
3000
Sepse une isha nje shkrimtare.
05:43
I was a writer.
112
328000
2000
Une isha nje shkrimtare.
05:45
Shortly after that I moved back to Tennessee.
113
330000
3000
Pak pas kesaj une u riktheva ne Tennessee.
05:48
I alternated between living in a van and couch surfing with friends.
114
333000
3000
Une u alternova midis te jetuarit ne furgon dhe qendrimit ne divan me miqte.
05:51
And I started writing again.
115
336000
3000
Dhe fillova te rishkruaj.
05:54
By the summer of the following year I was a working journalist.
116
339000
3000
Deri ne veren e vitit te ardhshem une isha nje gazetare.
05:57
I was winning awards. I was living in my own apartment.
117
342000
3000
Une isha duke fituar cmime. Une isha duke jetuar ne apartamentin tim.
06:00
I was no longer homeless.
118
345000
2000
Une nuk isha me nje e pastrehe.
06:02
And I was no longer invisible.
119
347000
3000
Dhe nuk isha me nje e padukshme.
06:05
Thousands of people work full and part-time jobs,
120
350000
3000
Mijera njerez punojne me kohe te plote ose te pjesshme,
06:08
and live in their cars.
121
353000
2000
dhe jetojne ne makinat e tyre.
06:10
But society continues to stigmatize and criminalize
122
355000
3000
Por shoqeria vazhdon ta stigmatizoje dhe kriminalizoje
06:13
living in your vehicle or on the streets.
123
358000
3000
te jetuarin ne makinen tende ose ne rruge.
06:16
So the homeless, the working homeless, primarily remain invisible.
124
361000
4000
Keshtu qe te pastrehet, punonjesit e pastrehe, mbeten te padukshem.
06:20
But if you ever meet one,
125
365000
2000
Por nese ndonjehere do te takoni ndonjerin prej tyre,
06:22
engage them, encourage them, and offer them hope.
126
367000
4000
aktivizojini ato, kurajohini ato dhe jepini atyre shprese.
06:26
The human spirit can overcome anything if it has hope.
127
371000
5000
Shpirti i njeriut mund te kaloje cdo gje nese ju jep atyre shprese.
06:31
And I'm not here to be the poster girl for the homeless.
128
376000
2000
Dhe une nuk jam ketu per te qene vajza model e te pastreheve.
06:33
I'm not here to encourage you to give money to the next panhandler you meet.
129
378000
3000
Nuk jam ketu per t'ju kurajuar per te dhene para te pastrehit te pare qe takoni.
06:36
But I am here to tell you that, based on my experience,
130
381000
3000
Por jam ketu per t'ju thene qe, bazuar ne eksperiencen time
06:39
people are not where they live,
131
384000
3000
njerezit nuk jane ato ku ato jetojne,
06:42
where they sleep,
132
387000
2000
ku ato flene,
06:44
or what their life situation is at any given time.
133
389000
5000
ose ku gjendja e tyre jetesore eshte ne cfaredo kohe.
06:49
Three years ago I was living in a van
134
394000
3000
Tre vjet me pare une isha duke jetuar ne nje furgon
06:52
in a Wal-Mart parking lot,
135
397000
2000
ne parkingn e Wal-Mart,
06:54
and today I'm speaking at TED.
136
399000
3000
dhe sot une jam duke folur tek TED.
06:57
Hope always, always finds a way. Thank you.
137
402000
5000
Shpresoni gjithmone, gjithmone gjen nje menyre. Ju faleminderit.
07:02
(Applause)
138
407000
2000
(Duartrokitje)
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