Pregnant homeless woman refuses help

Olympia's Crisis Response Unit has offered help

Posted

In his book, Tell Them Who I Am: The Lives of Homeless Women, Elliot Liebow defines some of “the little murders of everyday life” that confront homeless women.  In doing so, he wrote that they face problems around sleeping, boredom, killing time, health and sex … to say nothing of the harassment they encounter on the streets. 

Tammy – a homeless woman in Olympia, Washington - lives with what Liebow defined. 

Born in Colorado, she moved west, first to Oregon and then to Washington, about half a dozen years ago.  She said she has lived on the streets of Olympia.  Since the beginning of 2024 to the present, The JOLT has talked with her multiple times. 

According to the 2024 Thurston County homeless census, 38.1 percent of respondents identified as women. 

In conversations with her, she said she was sexually molested as a child and that she will not ask for help.  “I won’t go to a shelter; I don’t trust the people who use them,” Tammy said early one 14-degree morning this past January as she stood against the wall of a downtown building, her face betraying how cold she was.  

A Freezing Cold Morning:  Refusing to use a shelter during last January’s cold spell (it was 14 degrees), Tammy spent her time on the sidewalks in the downtown area.
A Freezing Cold Morning: Refusing to use a shelter during last January’s cold spell (it was 14 degrees), Tammy spent her time on the sidewalks in the downtown area.
Photo by JM Simpson, January 16, 2024

 She did, however, make an exception for the Olympia Police Department.  “The police come by during from time to time to check up on me,” she added.   

Although she’s rather small in stature, she’s not hard to find.  Almost always standing with a 12- or 16-ounce coffee in her hand (a daily handout from a local business), she usually has one or two shopping carts of items in tow as she slowly moves around the downtown area.   

 “It’s boring out here, but I get along,” she said several weeks ago, “although some of the people out here are mean.”  She refused to clarify if these people were other homeless individuals or passing pedestrians. 

When asked if any city agencies or officials have offered help, she said they had.  While not specific as to which agency, she again made it clear that she does not want help. 

In talking with several homeless men and women last month, The JOLT learned that Tammy is pregnant.  

When gently asked how this happened, Tammy said that she thought it occurred while she was recently incarcerated for trespassing.  She declined to elaborate. 

“I don’t want to talk about it,” she said. 

On The Street:  Sheltering during a recent rain storm, Tammy stands with her belongings.
On The Street: Sheltering during a recent rain storm, Tammy stands with her belongings.
Photo by JM Simpson, November 11, 2024
When asked about her condition and advised to seek medical assistance, she said no because she did not trust what kind of examination she would experience. 

“I don’t want them x-raying me,” she said with a note of defiance.  “X-rays are not good for my baby.”  When told that her unborn child would not be x-rayed, she walked away. 

When The JOLT contacted the Crisis Response Unit (CRU), a community responder unit within the Olympia Police Department, it was told that the unit had offered to help Tammy on several occasions. 

On Veterans Day, Tammy stood out of the rain under an overhang between two shopping carts of belongings.  Asked if she had sought any medical attention for her pregnancy, she repeated that she would not go to see a doctor. 

When asked if The JOLT could help her, she quietly said, “No.” 

Perhaps Liebow’s observation about the little murders homeless women face also has more than one meaning.  

Comments

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  • S2345S23456

    This woman looks to be nearly 60. At that age, or even if younger, and in the conditions she bears, how could she possibly be fertile? Even if her condition is a fiction, it is not for others, and she conjures a story to get people thinking. Compassion is still to be had for people enduring such conditions, and women who are victims of sexual abuse.

    Tuesday, November 19, 2024 Report this

  • Hmoats

    You approached a relative stranger and asked how they got pregnant, repeatedly offered unwanted advice, and called CRU? Then put it in print. I would feel harassed and appalled if someone did that to me.

    Tuesday, November 19, 2024 Report this

  • JMSimpson

    In response to Hmoats:

    I have intermittently interacted with Tammy since March 2023; she is not a "relative stranger" to me, nor am I to her. In fact, she has allowed me to photograph her on numerous occasions. In talking with me, she has consistently told me that she does not want help.

    My story stands as it is, and it was written to draw attention to a homeless woman who needs help.

    And last, I did have Tammy's consent to interview her and write the story.

    JM Simpson

    Tuesday, November 19, 2024 Report this

  • tommull

    Kudos J M Simpson! You are just reporting the facts. They are brutal facts! What to do about it is up to all of us that care. I am affected and I want to be effective. I advocate for Shelter First, Housing Earned. Separation (from the street environment), Services (substance abuse & mental health treatment ect), Accountability. It's a complex problem with complex solutions. =)

    Tuesday, November 19, 2024 Report this

  • Boatyarddog

    1st Commenter

    Tammy is 40ish, and yeah Street life is SO hard that is what it Does to the Body.

    It VERY cruel to Assume she is Making it up.

    Jave Compassion NOT Judgements.

    Better Yet spend Your FREE time Helping them...Not Judging Them because Your Judgements are NOT WELCOMING to Anyone.

    Tuesday, November 19, 2024 Report this

  • Southsoundguy

    These stories only reinforce the fact that we need a mental health institute for these people. Vagrancy should not be permitted.

    Tuesday, November 19, 2024 Report this

  • Callie

    I've become fond of Tammy because I see her so often. She is the one homeless person I'll give cash, and she is willing to chat with me.

    Monday, November 25, 2024 Report this