Del Seymour
Del Seymour
CREATED BY ADAM LOFTEN & GARY YOST 09:45 mins 2020
“So many people’s lives were shortened by me, now I have the opportunity to give back.” Del Seymour spent 18 years of his life living in the streets of the Tenderloin of San Francisco. Del now works to heal and transform this neighborhood through community development and personal responsibility.
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Discussion Guide:
Del introduces himself to us by sharing “Sometimes in life people make a left turn. Sometimes life makes a left turn. I lost everything I owned in 30 days. I lived on these streets for 18 years.”
Did you or anyone you know ever take a left turn in life which ended up in a place where you potentially lost your home, your possessions, your friends and your family? If so, whose responsibility did you believe it to be?
Del shares that “Homelessness is a word that stains people for life, but it’s a whole lot more complicated than that.”
What are some of the reasons that you think people are in situations without a home to live in?
When you observe un-housed people do you see past their identification as homeless and wonder about the other aspects of who they are?
Del tells us that “This neighborhood is divided among people that help and people who are helped. And some people are in both classifications. Where do you want to be in life?”
Are you helping? Do you have the capacity to help? What does it mean to take responsibility in your community?
Del says “I can never pay back all of the resources I took out of the community but I strive every day to use that strength I’ve got to pay it back.”
Del says he took resources out of the community and therefore feels a responsibility to pay them back. Is it the responsibility of community members that have received resources to pay them back in some way when they are able?
Del states “The new residents are bringing so much with them. They’re bringing knowledge, they’re bringing finances. They’re becoming a part of this community because they know they have an investment here. … We can march to city hall together.”
Many low income communities fear an influx of new residents because gentrification often comes with displacement. Do you agree with Del’s assessment that these new residents will offer their knowledge, finances and status to advocate for the more vulnerable community members in the Tenderloin? If so, what do you think motivates them to share their resources in this community?
Del shares “Being a member of a community means a lot more than just moving in, paying your rent, going to work and coming back home at night. It means knowing your neighbors, whether they live next door to you or on the street down the block from you.
Do you know your neighbors and are any of them un-housed? Do you think that you are an active community member? Do you see the un-housed as active community members? Do you see them as part of your community?
Links to discover more:
TedX talk: “My transformational journey.”
Short film: “Leadership Award, Del Seymour, founder of Code Tenderloin.”
KPIX TV new segment: “Del Seymour discusses Code Tenderloin and Tenderloin Walking Tours.”