Rose Krekelberg stood before city leaders Tuesday to share her own experience of homelessness. The Omaha woman grew up in the foster system and found herself in a cycle of addiction and sex trafficking as a young adult.
“Being unhoused is not a personal failure but the result of circumstances that deserve compassion,” Krekelberg said. “Please look closely at my face, and remember it. So when you see someone begging for food or sleeping under a bridge, you think of me. Because I am them, and they are me.”
Councilwoman Aimee Melton shared a personal story on the intersection of mental health and homelessness. Her mother’s twin sister, Connie, experienced homelessness due to schizophrenia. Despite a robust support system, Melton’s aunt spent years on and off the streets, her adult children unable to locate her. She ended up at a bus stop in Phoenix, Arizona, where she was raped and murdered…