Enjoy this brief profile of Sara, the subject of an upcoming Annex Eight project!
Sara and Delilah have been together almost two years.
I met Sara when she was panhandling outside L.A. Live.
L.A. Live - the scramble of LEDs and commerce surrounding STAPLES Center. It boasts restaurants, bars, but most importantly, the Regal Cinemas L.A. Live, the only theater within 15 minutes of my apartment that was showing Taken 3 that night.
She was posted up across the street from the theater, at a busy crossing. She had a small black cat, with big green eyes. The cat saw me reach into my wallet to check for singles. Sara smiled wanly at the group of us waiting at the crosswalk. She had a small cardboard sign propped up; a cartoon of herself and her cat, both smiling. Anything helps.
My smallest bill was a five. I put my wallet back into my pocket, but I got all of ten feet before I heard a voice in my head pointing out that the five bucks I was about to spend on Milk Duds while bakedly watching Liam Neeson punch guys might be better off in the hands of this woman.
After Sara introduced me to herself, and her cat Delilah, we struck up a brief conversation. Where was she from, how long had she had the cat. After a few minutes, she dropped this on me:
"I'm currently trying to start a non-profit to help provide kenneling and foster care for homeless people's pets!"
How do you not love that? This woman, who was on the street asking for change, wants to make a difference. She wants to take action. I was inspired and in awe. We exchanged emails, and last week I sat down to interview her on camera (EDITOR'S NOTE: Keep your eyes out for that project, coming soon!).
When Sara was born, she had two small holes in her heart. She had open heart surgery when she was three years old. Still, she learned how to read before kindergarten. She amassed a 3.5 GPA in high school, and wanted to pay her own way in college.
"I only ever wanted to be a writer," she explained. She went to the University of Cincinnatti to study English Literature.
The dramatic turn, Sara says, came in 2007, when arson claimed her apartment. She'd just moved into a new place, and says she was going to pay for renter's insurance with her first paycheck. Sadly, before she could, a jealous ex-boyfriend of another tenant burned down the building. There were casualties, and massive property damage.
Sara lost everything. She eventually made her way to Los Angeles with her boyfriend. The two lived in a tent, with nothing, outside downtown L.A, for over a year. Sara rescued Delilah, her sweet and playful black cat, in 2013.
Sara's face alights, and her fingers run through Delilah's soft fur, as she lays out ideas for programs to provide everything from kennel services to dog park access, all for the pets of L.A.'s most marginalized population.
Many homeless people have mental issues or, at the very least, good reason not to trust other humans. For them, a pet is more than a friend, more even than family. Sara smiles as she tells me she's happily gone hungry but still fed Delilah.
"Her love saved us," Sara says earnestly. "Our love saved her. I just want to help the pets God sent to help the least of us."