CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO)-- An advocate for the homeless has returned to Illinois with heart-wrenching stories from a decade and a half of documenting a continuing crisis.
Diane Nilan is a former director of Hesed House, an Aurora shelter, and president of the national non-profit group HEAR US. She’s spent 15 years traveling the country, living in her RV and talking to people without secure housing.
"I knew kids and families that were homeless that weren't being seen and they weren't being heard," she said. "I figured I could be the instrument that would provide a way to share their stories."
She’s written a book based on her travels and interviews she recorded. It’s called "Dismazed and Driven, My Look at Family Homelessness in America."
Nilan talked with and recorded interviews with countless people who talk about their living conditions and lifestyles and how they are often forgotten or facing a precarious existence.
In a promotional video for the book, a woman referred to as Annie, a mother of three from Washington, describes her experience being homeless.
"We lived in a garage with no windows, no bathroom, no sink, nothing to cook in, no water, no shower, so you can just imagine what we had to do," she said.
Annie's experience is one of many that Nilan documented in her book.
WBBM explores homelessness on our AT ISSUE program this weekend and you can hear more Sunday at 9:30 a.m.
Related
