Andrea

Andrea Lewis walks from the library to a shelter for the evening.

Andrea Lewis, 46, is a licensed pharmacy technician. Her jobs have only been part time or temporary, however, so not enough income to secure housing. She spends her days at the downtown library on a computer applying for work, researching medical information, which is her passion, and searching for educational grants.
Her dream is to have a home with a back studio so she can open a business doing colonics. Through her own homelessness, seeing the impact of sugary or fast food on people’s energy and moods, she feels a pathway to better health is nutrition and colon cleansing.
“I’m probably too old to be a doctor,” Lewis said, “so.. colonics, I could be a quick, fast, easy doctor,” she added with a laugh.

Lewis has a 32-year-old son. The boy’s father was killed in a car accident when the boy was an infant, though that actually allowed her to break away from a negative environment full of drugs. She doesn’t like to talk about the rest of her family, most of whom are elsewhere in California.She’s been homeless since 2004. The biggest challenge is not having anywhere clean to sleep. She uses plastic bags to separate herself from dirty blankets handed out at some of the shelters. No public restrooms, businesses that won’t allow homeless to use their restrooms and waiting lines and time limits on the restrooms at shelters make it difficult to stay looking nice, for self-respect and to do job interviews.

Along those lines, she wants to sell Mary Kay cosmetics because she feels that how wealthy people get rich: having multiple streams of income. It also gives her self-confidence.
“I have the foundation and the concealer on every day. Even through my homelessness I know that I look good, and I have the self-esteem because I have my make-up on,” she said, standing in line to get a meal and place to sleep for the night. “I’m always ministering to people… I’m face to face with employers in interviews, and I feel confident if I have my Mary Kay make-up on.”

Some time in the year 2000 Lewis got tired of trying to make a living on the street. She got tired of the street hustle and strange men all the time. She found her way into the church life and never looked back. She goes to church every Sunday, and carries a thick Bible around with her few belongings. The construction of new buildings downtown inspires her to think of her own business, and owning a home with an office someday soon.
“This is my year to shine,” she said. “I’ve been down a long time, it’s time to rise.”