Manatee County students show ‘Homeless are Humans’

She’s quick to offer a glowing smile to the world around her and has a genuine enthusiasm for life. Upon meeting Karen Bernardo, it would be hard to imagine she’s been living on the streets of Bradenton for the past 10 months.

Bernardo’s spirit glows with a purpose she believes is infused by God, noting at one point, “I know the Lord has a purpose for me for being here so long.”

When asked what life is like on the streets, her smile fades, the light in her eyes dims as she looks to the floor.

“It’s very trying. But you always have to press on.”

She sat stoic for only a moment and her smile returned. “No matter what,” Bernardo said.

The Ohio native was abandoned in Bradenton by a couple she drove down with to visit her mother in an assisted living facility. The couple argued and inexplicably drove back to Ohio without her.

“The first few days were definitely scary,” she recalled. “I didn’t know what to do, where to go or where I was going to sleep.”

Bernardo’s story is one of many within Manatee County’s estimated homeless population of 5,000.

It’s one of many stories a group of area high school students are trying to hear and then relay to the public, with the message: Being homeless doesn’t make anyone less human.

“There’s a harsh stigma with the homeless population,” said Jacob Huesman, a Braden River High School senior. “You find out they are just like you when you talk to them, but people tend to walk or drive right by them without even looking at them. They want to be acknowledged.”

Huesman is one of 10 area high school students from Braden River, Southeast and Lakewood Ranch who spent last Saturday eating and walking with and interacting with the homeless. They call themselves Humans of Manatee County, launched by Manatee County Problem Solvers, and they produced a homeless documentary last September that was well received at the Sarasota Film Festival.

Huesman and other Braden River students won in the Film Rush Manatee! student film festival this spring for their documentary about the homeless in Bradenton.

The students have been volunteering in several homeless programs ever since, and one recurring theme came out of all their hard work: The homeless just want to be treated as humans, with dignity and respect.

Glimpse from inside

Bernardo and two other homeless “guides” gave the students a glimpse into their lives. They spent the morning playing with homeless children, an estimated 1,800 in Manatee County, and then ate breakfast at the Salvation Army. They walked the streets until lunch at Turning Points and then continued their journey while visiting various homeless camps.

“Before I did this, I never realized how many things I was taking for granted and I’ve become a lot more grateful,” said Huesman. His observations about the challenges the homeless face each day are transportation issues, which make it difficult to find work.

“People think they are lazy, but that’s not really what it is,” he said. “I think people should try to talk to them before judging.”

Olivia Yaryura, another Braden River student, said a lot of the homeless she has met are trying to get off the street. She also acknowledges a lot of them aren’t, but questioned the difference between the homeless and everyone else.

“It’s been a unique experience,” said Yaryura. “Honestly, it’s just like anywhere else. You talk to some of them and they give you attitude, but many others are happy to talk to you. I experience the same thing just trying to talk to people in my everyday life. It’s no different. You do see a lot of them trying really hard, and we need to do something to help them.”

Huesman said drug use in the homeless population “is insane.” He acknowledges addicts, aggressive panhandlers and the mentally ill in the homeless community make is difficult to overcome the public’s general perception. Still, he said, “It’s not fair to judge an entire population on what some members of the public experience with the homeless.”

Rehab must be first

Changing the public’s view of the homeless is difficult, says Laura Licoski, head of Home is Where the Heart is, a homeless ministry.

“I’ve run into the aggressive people here where they get in my face and start cussing at me,” she said. “I take it and then I give it right back to them. It’s a hard ministry to get into for a lot of people. I understand that. But people need to understand the causes behind it. There are no rehab centers and the only one that will take them is Centerstone, and they will only house someone for three days. That’s not enough time to get anyone treatment.”

Licoski said Manatee County can build all the affordable housing possible, “but if we don’t do anything to address the rehab first, we aren’t going to find a solution. We need funding for rehab. We try to build them up emotionally to get them to respect themselves as well as others. But until they respect themselves, nothing can happen.”

Estimates are roughly 50 percent of Manatee County residents are on the verge of being homeless.

“All it takes is one bad thing happening, whether it’s losing a job, getting into an accident or getting sick,” Yaryura said, “and there are a lot of people who could find themselves homeless.”

Deb Yaryura said the students have been hard at work since September, spending countless hours trying to delve into the causes and potential solutions.

“It’s been a huge eye-opener for the students and for me,” she said. “The students started out in utter fear of the homeless and now are able to converse and treat them as human beings. The transformation has been amazing.”

For Bernardo, the experience has been equally amazing. For the second time, but for a different reason, her smile briefly faded and her eyes welled with tears. “To think that these kids would work so hard just to show others that we are human beings is pretty incredible. I’ll never forget it.”

This story was originally published May 24, 2016 at 11:55 AM with the headline "Manatee County students show ‘Homeless are Humans’."