Belinda Darby, Homeless Computer Science Ph.D.

PEGGY PEATTIE / Union-Tribune

At work, I keep a copy of IKEA's "America At Home" on my desk; while thumbing through it on April 15, I found a picture of homeless woman Belinda Darby.

It turns out Ms. Darby holds a doctorate in Computer Science. :o|

http://www.sdcitybeat.com/sandiego/print-article-2864-print.html

Born in Decatur, Ill., Darby, her four siblings and her parents moved to Chula Vista in 1968, when she was 8. She graduated from Bonita Vista High School, went to college and eventually got a job in computers, working for IBM in National City. She met her husband and moved to Oram, Utah, where he died suddenly at his desk in 1990, from a massive heart attack. Devastated, Darby took her daughter to live near her sister in Florida, where she stayed until 2002, when her parents became ill. She spent four years taking care of them until, in 2006, her father died. 

Four years out of the workforce and heartbroken, Darby had a nervous breakdown. She couldn’t work, she couldn’t eat, she couldn’t sleep. She eventually had to be hospitalized. When she got out of the hospital, she was out of cash and out of ideas. So she took to the streets.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080511/news_1h11athome2.html

The second photo depicts Anthony Robinson and Belinda Darby, homeless on the streets of San Diego. Robinson, in a sweat shirt watching a DVD, was a poor kid from South Carolina who had trouble with the law. Darby has a Ph.D. in computer science.

“They found each other on the street,” Peattie wrote. “Each night Robinson sets out their blankets and erects a shaky wooden table. And while Darby sleeps, Robinson gathers partially full cans from local Dumpsters to keep them fed.” 

Months after the photo shoot, Peattie said she receives text messages from the couple asking if she's having a good day. 

“America at Home” is available in local bookstores (Running Press, Philadelphia, $40) and can be ordered online with a custom-made dust jacket with a photo of your own. Information: MyAmericaAtHome.com