OUR STORY

WHO WE ARE

Bonnye Davis, Vice President/Treasurer

Bonnye is married to Chibi, mother to two step-sons, and to 3 ½ year-old Keala, born at home in Austin, TX. She agreed to share some of her experiences and thoughts with our Macpack community.

• How did you learn about Macpack? 

I learned of Macpack through Eryn Snowden-Rawley and my long-time friend Ryan Reddick. It was something they shared with me with pride and excitement, and they were eager for all of their friends and family to be involved in some way or another.

• What was it like being friends with Ryan?

Being friends with Ryan was very special and quite interesting. He had a heart of gold. He was one of the best listeners I’ve ever met, and an unusually empathetic individual. He made you feel very important, and he sincerely loved and cared for his friends—we were all dear family to him. Ryan always exuded a warm comfort—you could tell him anything!

Ryan was interesting because there was never a dull moment—he was always looking for new and cool things to get in to. He could brainstorm any subject and come up with workable solutions. His role with Macpack suited him perfectly and was inspiring as well. I was always comfortable being open with him about my experiences living on the streets.

• What attracted you to get involved with Macpack in a leadership position?

The attraction to Macpack comes from wanting to use the passion within me wisely. With all that is going on in the world, Macpack is a healthy, positive, progressive idea to support and take an active role in, while keeping a man’s name alive who so dearly wanted to help the homeless, and who took on their suffering as his own. It is particularly special to me that I’ve acquired the position of our late Ryan. I can only strive and hope to offer even one-half of what he brought to the table. I will definitely do my best.

• Can you share a little of your experience being homeless?

I was homeless as a very young teen. From age 12 to 16, I lived in abandoned buildings, parks, and anywhere that I could find. My family life was broken at that time and I turned to the streets as an alternative. I could never forget being homeless. It is a piece of my life in which I learned and experienced things that helped mold me as wife, mother, sister, friend, daughter and woman.

• What insights would you like to share with Macpack subscribers about being homeless?

The homeless life is most often misunderstood. All of us start in our mothers’ arms at birth, and find ourselves taking many different paths that can lead us to the streets. It is important to look at all the many reasons that people end up homeless, without judgment and with a more understanding and open-minded approach.

• Any ideas about how to raise awareness of homelessness with Macpackers and the public?

Becoming aware is a matter of personal choice. We have to stop looking at it as an “us versus them” type thing. We need to get people actually talking about homelessness in their daily conversations, just as they do the weather or the latest movie they’ve seen. We need to help people realize that homelessness will not go away just by ignoring it. Above all, we need to teach our children through example to show compassion, and appropriately share the reality and understanding of what we all face as human beings.

• You've been actively involved with Macpack from the beginning--what do you see happening with Macpack in the future? (Bonnye hosted the first Macpack tag sale after Ryan’s death).

My vision is for Macpack to grow, reaching more people in need, and for Macpack to become a name that people associate with support for the homeless—for our community (homeless or not) to know that Macpack is solidly there for them. Macpacks contain loads of comfort and hygienic items, and that’s really what it’s all about. Understanding the very basic of needs of humanity can lead to great improvement in peoples’ lives—they just sometimes need a little help.

• In general, how can we help eradicate homelessness in America?

Eradicating homelessness will only happen if we all step in and acknowledge the reasons why it exists. In essence, we can stop it before it starts. This earth provides enough resources for each and every person. It is the responsibility of us all to address this and actively take part in helping our fellow humans. I CANNOT EMPHASIZE ENOUGH HOW CRITICALLY IMPORTANT COMMUNITY SERVICES SUCH AS MACKPACK ARE TO SUPPORT THE HOMELESS AND GIVE THEM THE MEANS TO RETURN TO A MORE SECURE AND PRODUCTIVE LIFE.