What I learned from homelessness

November 30 2022

Homelessness: It’s a word that I knew, but something that I never expected—like the rest of the world—would happen to me. That’s because I didn’t know anything about the shelters, the soup kitchens, and all the major organizations helping people on the street (a huge mistake on my part).

After two tragic months on the street and two suicide attempts, I was helped by a lady who led me to the City of Athens Reception & Solidarity Center (KYADA). It was then, after I solved the bed and food problem, that my great love came along: my “raft”—"shedia” in Greek.

My life changed completely from the day I started working for this wonderful magazine. Today, I am a vendor for the Shedia Street Paper, as well as a guide for the paper’s Invisible Routes tour.

Shedia’s Invisible Routes is a walk in the center of Athens, where I show the people who take the tour the dark side of Athens: shelters, soup kitchens, rehabilitation centers, and all these big organizations helping people on the street. And I do this with great love, of course, because I didn’t know anything about all this myself before I was homeless. Now, of course, I have become an expert, and I am very happy because many schools from all over Athens, many universities, and even many tourists participate in the Invisible Routes tours.

Shedia is not just a magazine. It is a lot of things. We have a national football team, and each year we participate in the Homeless World Cup. We also have a very successful theater group that I’ve been involved in since 2015. In fact, in 2015, I even performed at the National Theatre of Greece!

Two things I learned on the street: First, the fact that it happened to me means that it can happen to anyone. And second, and very important, that happiness is found in the little things, not in the big things.

So, the next time you see a Shedia vendor, buy a copy. It’s not charity. It’s solidarity.