When Jessica Terrell first stumbled across a homeless encampment on the west coast of Oahu, she instinctively knew that she had to come back and get to know the people living there.
Terrell, who is Civil Beat’s education reporter, had some personal reasons for wanting to tell the story of Hawaii’s largest and most unusual homeless community.
Growing up in a family of traveling musicians, Terrell was often homeless herself, and she wanted to help change people’s perceptions of the homeless. But what she quickly discovered at The Harbor was that she had some pretty big misconceptions of her own.
Hit the play button to hear the discussion or subscribe to the Civil Beat Podcast on iTunes or Stitcher.
Read more about this unusual community in our special report, “The Harbor.”
This podcast was written by Jessica Terrell and produced by Chrystele Bossu-Ragis.
Jessica Terrell spent hundreds of hours in The Harbor to report on the homeless life. Cory Lum/Civil Beat
Want to hear more? Check out Civil Beat's other podcasts.
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Chrystèle Bossu-Ragis has been a radio reporter, editor and newscaster for 15 years in her native France for Virgin Radio, previously known as Europe 2. She has also worked as a Silicon Valley correspondent for Europe 1.