Gabby Benson

August 14, 2020 - Interview between Scott Morris and Gabby Benson

Gabby Benson is a neighborhood resident at GSU student/softball team member. She initiated a food drive to provide services to community members experiencing homelessness during the COVID-18 crisis.

Hello, Gabby.

Hi.

Hi Gabby Benson, this is Scott Morris. I'm not recording our interview on August 14th.

Um, and so I just got done explaining the project that I'm working on with Dashboard and MARTA. And, um, I was gonna ask you a few questions. Let's start with, um, the tunnel itself if you have experience as a resident of the community or as a person involved in outreach in the community with the actual Grant Street tunnel.

Uh, I definitely have walked through it a couple of times. Um, it's something I visited a few times. Um, but that's all. I’ve really just walked through it a couple times to the city.

Okay. And then I read that you were living in the Pencil Factory right there. Is that while you were a George State student?

Yes, I am still living in a pencil factory.

Okay. Cool. I live in the mattress factory, so I live on the other side of the Grant Street tunnel, and then, um, I really want to talk to you about the outreach work that you've been doing. Is that in the community? Is that in a larger downtown area?

Uh, well, it started as just my mom kind of driving through Atlanta and giving away, um, some some lunch bags, and then it kind of grew into closer to where I live, in pencil factory, since I'm just gonna be around there. So I just kind of grown to know some of the homeless people, so they know I'm... or expect me to come so they, um, are able to get their lunch bags, and it's kind of like daily or weekly thing that I do so I can give it to them near my pencil factory.

Oh, cool. So near, like, within the community, you've identified people that are in need of food, and then you're able to, through your daily life in the community, identify people and get them the food they need.

Right. Yeah. There's definitely a couple of, like returners that I see a lot. So, um, I make sure to make my rounds at the pencil factory.

Okay. And what was your, like, inspiration for getting involved in this?

Um, well, it all started kinda when COVID hit, and we realized that a lot of people aren't going to be in Atlanta like in the street. So there's not a lot of homeless people who can ask for something, ask for food. And there's also, like, not a lot of, like trash that would be in Atlanta since the people weren't going to be in the streets anymore, so that kind of started the whole lunch bags and getting food to people that really need it.

Um, And then what is kind of what has been the response so far from from both the kind of end users your your clients, if you will, and then the larger community?

It's been really positive, and everyone's very appreciative of it. And, um, I mean, no one has ever turned it away or, um, not been thankful for it. They've all been very thankful and appreciative of what we've done.

Okay, um, and do you have, like, future plans for..? This sounds like it's really grassroots. It's just you and your mom doing it right. Or and I think your mom's churches are involved … Do you have, like, a future plan for continuing the, the program?

Um, well, nothing that's like in writing or anything, but I will like to get my, um, future and returner softball players to kind of join into the group. Um, so it's like you said, It's just me and my mom doing it right now. So, um, if we could get, like some of my softball friends to do it, it would be really good to have that, too, as well.

Okay. And then have you had, like, from your... your friends on the softball team, have they..then what's been their Kind of response to that idea?

I think they're all pretty, uh, willing to do it. And happy to do it. Um, we always try to do community service sometime during the semester. So I think this would be a good one to do. So I think they would. They would love to do it.

And then what about your neighbors or roommates or anybody at the... at your building? Like, is there anybody in the kind of immediate, um, community that's responded or... or participate or anything like that?

I'm not sure if any of my neighbors have really seen me do it, but my roommates are my softball team mates. So they definitely don't, I do it and would definitely, um, like, help out with it for sure.

Okay, um, So I think that should be about wrap it up. And like I said, I'll send you over a transcript, and then we'll look through some kind of identifier. Um Um, some, you know, voices that we want to use to incorporate into the, um, art and, um, talk to you about how you would want that attributed. And, um, I really appreciate your time.

Yeah, of course. Thank you so much.

Okay, Gabby. Take care.

A project by Dashboard and MARTA | Artbound.