Cyndi Demuth, Nashville Homeless Power Project Leader, Friend to many. .“I love to talk to people, you know and if I can make somebody else smile, somebody who’s out here like I am, if I can just give’em a hug or a smile, that makes me feel good.” Photo by Joon Powell. | NHPP Mourns Homeless Leader Monday March 3, 2008 It is with great sadness that we share that we have lost one of our leaders this last week. Cyndi, several months pregnant, died while sleeping out in the streets. While the exact cause of death is not known, she was a brittle diabetic who often came close to diabetic comas because of difficulty managing her blood sugar while surviving on the streets. Cyndi is best remembered for always celebrating life, being a positive person, who always acknowledged the bright side of every situation. She was a faithful member of the Power Project and one of the first vendors of new paper, the Contributor. More than that, she was a friend to so many of us on the streets. Below is a short autobiography that Cyndi wrote in the recent book- Homeless Power! |
Cyndi Demuth Born in 1971 – Died February 2008 I’m 36, born and raised in Montana. Graduated high school class of 1989. I’ve been here for the last three and a half years. Nashville and the surrounding areas. I worked at McDonalds, was a closing manager at McDonalds in Lavern. I’ve kinda done a little of everything. Most of it’s been fast food, restaurant work. But the best job I can honestly say I’ve ever had was when I was when I worked for Direct TV. I’ve been at the Nashville Homeless Power Project for several months, I love what I do with the Power Project. I got involved and started doing outreach and learning how to organize. I brought it up to my team up in the office to do something like Habitat for Humanity, but to do something like Habitat for the Homeless, because in Nashville there are enough abandoned buildings and hotels that we could get, and work on them and get them going, get transitional living, wrap-around services and get people off the streets. You know, most of the people who are homeless around here are because of the lack of affordable housing. In Nashville it sucks pretty bad. So, that’s why we’re doing what we can with the Mayor and the Council to get what they promised us: 200 units a year and we’re going on to the third year now but we’ve only got 84 units that’s it. I will not go to the Women’s Rescue Mission. I just don’t like the way they treat people. And the way I was treated. I was banned because I’m also a brittle diabetic and my blood sugar gets too low so they gotta call 911. They said I was a health risk. I’ve only been in a few homeless shelters in my hometown and in Morehead, Minnesota and they have a church, called Churches United for the Homeless, but those places will actually help you get the services needed to get people up off the streets. Here they don’t. The missions do not do that. I think it’s weird myself. Because I was like, you know, if y’all are complaining about the homeless, why don’t you do something to help get them up off the street? In Minnesota they’ve got affordable housing, especially when Governor Ventura was in office. He actually did something to get affordable in the state of Minnesota, and it’s still growing. Us homeless, lot of us do work. But its just, down by the men’s mission they have like five temp agencies. They pay daily and their pay is very minimal. It’s like 5 bucks an hour. And it’s really difficult when you’re trying to survive its hard because you can get 30 dollars a day. It’s really difficult especially if they work late enough and can’t not go to the mission. I have a couple friends of mine, they both work through a temp service. And they’re just barely surviving staying at one of the hotels. There are churches that feed every day lunch and dinner but if your working and you can’t make it to the churches that are feeding you’re kind of pretty much screwed as far as eating and things like that. I’m a diabetic and most of the bars downtown have gotten to know me now, and my blood sugar drops I go in and they give me orange juice. But the hard part about is that the orange juice will help, but only for a little bit, I need actual food to go with it. I’m generally a real happy person. I do have depression also. But I like to give a person a smile because a smile is free to give away. And, I love to talk to people, you know and if I can make somebody else smile, somebody who’s out here like I am, if I can just give’em a hug or a smile that makes me feel good. Cuz one day I was out there by the busses and all I did was smile at this gentleman walking by, smiled at him, said good morning to him, he came back and handed me a $10 bill. And I looked at him and said “what’s that for?” At the time I didn’t need it. And he said, “Just for giving a smile and saying good morning.” So you know, I made his day better. | |
3.13.2008
An Update On The Death Of Cindy Demuth
A few things to report about the sudden death of Cindy while down in Mississippi. First, a message came in last night regarding Cindy's passing, and I wanted to share it here:
I posted this message here for a couple of reasons. First, I do hope that anyone who can give Dion some info on Cindy will do so, and I have forwarded Dion's info to the good folks at the Nashville Homeless Power Project so that they may respond, since they worked closely with Cindy for quite a while.
The second reason I posted this comment here is because I want to talk a moment about the lack of contact with the family that often occurs to those who spend their lives on the street.
Shit happens in families.
Sometimes it's really bad shit and some of it is unforgivable, but time has a miraculous way of healing many old wounds. I know this because my sister and I have had a love-hate relationship for most of our adult lives.
We went some ten years without speaking to each other and it took the death of our mother to bring us back together.
I don't know what I'd have done if my sister had died and I hadn't had the chance to tell her that no matter what, I love her and am always here for her.
But it really took those ten years of separation for both of us to recognize just how important our family was to us.
And that is my point here.
If you're on the street and you've got family somewhere, maybe its time you gave them a call. Just to let them know you're okay, if nothing else. Come find me; I've got a bunch of phone cards and I'll gladly give you one or two. Hell, for that matter, I'll let you use my phone if you're going to call "home"....
Second, I wanted to provide some additional info on what Cindy's status is right now because she's been stuck down in a morgue in Mississippi since her death and against the wishes of those who are trying desperately to get her body released so that she can be brought back to Nashville where people loved and cared about her, the sunsabitches have cremated her as "Jane Doe."
Cindy Demuth is NOT a Jane Doe and it is an outrage that the officials in charge of this....travesty in Mississippi have done this to her.
Efforts are underway to convince the persons responsible to allow the body to be released to us here in Nashville so that we may give her a proper burial and place her among her friends and street family that have come to love, admire and respect her for who she was.
It's been a really trying situation for the many involved and I'd like to personally thank Clemmie Greenlee for her tireless devotion in working to get this matter resolved.
One thing Mississippi officials better recognize quickly about Clemmie; if she gets involved in a problem, she doesn't let go until it's resolved.
I've posted and linked the NHPP's tribute to Cindy below and we've also done a full page spread in The Contributor, so Cindy's presence will be around for a long time. The Power Project will be holding a memorial soon and when I can get a firm date, I'll post it here.
From the Nashville Homeless Power Project:
We're all gonna miss your smile, Cindy.
More as it comes available....
Smiling does a body good
THIS IS DION I AM CINDY'S COUSIN IN GREAT FALLS MONTANA I HAVE A HOLE HELL OF A LOT TO GIVE BUT IF ANYONE CAN GIVE ME ANY INFO ON CINDY IN HER LAST DAYS I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE IT. SHE WAS ONE OF TH BEST COUSINS I COULD HAVE. I HAVE NOT SPOKE W/ CINDY IN 15 YEARS BT ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW WHERE SHE WAS OR WHERE SHE WAS AT. I MISS HER BADLY AND WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHERE SHE HAS BEEN ...HER CHILDREN ... HER LIFE.... I JUST WISH SHE COULD HAVE KEPT IN TOUCH W/ME LOVE ALAYS DION... REST IN PEACE CINDY I LOVE YOU ......P.S. IF ANY ONE CAN GIVE ANY INFO ON CINDY MY E-MAIL IS ...dionoloughlin@yahoo.com...
pleas write to me