In 1983 a photographer named Mary Ellen Mark went on assignment with another woman to do a piece on the homeless youth of Seattle. The photographer was drawn in to the crazy lives of these children who roamed openly on the streets, scavenging for survival. She ended up convincing her husband to come back to Seattle because there was so much more of a story to tell than the one for Life magazine.
Martin Bell, Mark's husband was a documentary film maker. The documentary they made is called Streetwise, and it came out in 1984. When I heard about it, I couldn't wait to see it. Unfortunately it is out of print, and as far as I know it never was released on DVD. If you are interested, you can see it on YouTube.
The children they follow came to trust them and really just live there lives so openly, it's a truly unique documentary, and one that probably couldn't ever happen again, despite the fact that there are still so many children living on the streets of the United States.
Some of the featured kids are Rat, Tiny, Dwayne, and Patrice. Rat shows the viewers how to con free pizza and how to successfully shelter in abandoned hotels undetected. Tiny is a thin child prostitute, who sometimes goes home, so hungry for love from a mother who can't be bothered to parent. If you've ever seen American Heart, you've gotten a glimpse of Dwayne's life, as his relationship with his father is what the film was loosely based on. Patrice is a teenaged pimp, who is visited by his mother, but he doesn't give in to her pleas for him to come home (He was recently murdered on the streets of Seattle).
There are other kids with various stories, though most of them have the sadly common reason for their self imposed homelessness- abuse and/or neglect at home. They look out for each other and make the best of street life. I was really moved by these kids and their remarkable bravery and tenacity. I also found it stunning to see how easily they were overlooked by all of the adults gliding past them with shopping bags and schedules. I was horrified to to see how they weren't protected, but even worse, preyed upon by (mostly) grown men; even in broad daylight you see an old guy picking up a twelve year old.
Streetwise is a very special and eye opening documentary. I hope I have inspired some interest. There is a FB website devoted to the kids from the streets and the fans. I joined and was happy to see that some made it out alive, some even thriving, writing books, working and raising families. Although, one chilling truth I heard was that one of the teens was a victim of the Green River Killer. It's chilling enough, but the fact that in the doc she is talking with friends about which pimp to choose, and the serial killer is mentioned. She looks creeped out by the thought. How sad is that?
Anyway, I hope you'll seek out this documentary, or if you've seen it, tell me what you thought.
(Photo is a free use stock image)
