ST. GEORGE, UT, June 2, 2021
Meet your new friend, Harry. Harry is a cat who doesn’t have a roof over his head or a warm meal in his belly. Like many of the homeless in America, Harry is not unhoused because he chooses to be, but he won’t let that discourage him.
From the age of seven to seventeen, Michael Gaulden, with his mother and sister, was one of millions of homeless children in America. Three years ago, Gaulden published his memoir, My Way Home: Growing Up Homeless in America. “In my darkest hour there was no guiding light. I had to stumble along. I made mistakes. I did not have a map to follow the road of homeless life, let alone the inner city. When I was at my lowest points I could pick up a pen and paper and escape,” Gaulden says. “It gave me a voice, a platform and a way out.”
Navigating the streets can be a scary experience for anyone and especially traumatic for children. “Millions of kids face this problem every year,” Gaulden states, “and they feel invisible. I wanted to write a book for children that would usher in a new generation of understanding about our neighbors in need.”
His picture book, designed to reach readers in kinder through third grade, will feature Harry, a homeless cat, whose compassion and humor will humanize the unhoused and entertain and empower readers of all ages. With Harry, Gaulden hopes to provide the light for children he never had. “When life gets tough, and they feel alone, I want kids to be able to turn to their new buddy Harry.”
Besides being a writer, Gaulden created a video project entitled “Homelessness Through the Eyes of Michael Gaulden” in order to shift the negative perception and connotation around homelessness and the people it impacts.
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Michael Gaulden received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles. He is a former qualitative and quantitative researcher for UCLA. He currently works in homeless services to be the helping hand he wishes he had. He is an active Homeless activist, education enthusiast, public speaker, musician as well as an activist for all disadvantaged people. In 2018, Gaulden was selected as author of the month by San Diego’s Central Library–the same library he used to spend so much of his time in as an unhoused youth.
Learn more at his website michaelgaulden.com.