By Donald Gilpin

Andrea Elliott
(Photo courtesy of HomeFront)

New York Times staff writer and two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner Andrea Elliott will be the keynote speaker at HomeFront’s annual Women’s Initiative reception at the Westin Princeton at Forrestal Village on April 27.

Author of Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City, which won the 2022 Pulitzer in General Nonfiction, Elliott is the Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton University, teaching a course this term on immersion journalism and narrative nonfiction.

Joining Elliott on stage will be Chanel Sykes and her daughter Dasani, the “invisible child” whose life in New York City Elliott followed for almost a decade, reporting on the poverty, homelessness, and the girl’s extraordinary resilience in the face of devastating inequalities throughout her teenage years.

“This is the first time that Dasani and her mother, Chanel, will be appearing in person before a large audience,” said Elliott. “It’s momentous. The event will center around a conversation between Chanel and me that revisits the story of the Sykes family and the struggles that Chanel and Dasani have endured. I will also be talking about the journey of reporting and writing Invisible Child.”

Elliott noted that Dasani is now 21 and just completed training to become a home health aide. “She continues to live in the Bronx with Chanel, who is working to advocate for the rights of parents caught up in the child welfare system,” Elliott said.

“Elliott’s book is a triumph of in-depth reporting and storytelling,” wrote Ariel Levy, author of The Rules Do Not Apply, as quoted on the book jacket of Invisible Child. “It is a visceral blow-by-blow depiction of what ‘structural racism’ has meant in the lives of generations of one family. But above all else it is a celebration of a girl — an unforgettable heroine whose frustration, elation, exhaustion, and intelligence will haunt your heart.”

The book tells the story of Dasani’s childhood, along with a history of her family from her ancestors in slavery to their migration north and a troubling examination of the homeless crisis in New York City. Dasani becomes a fighter to protect and help navigate her siblings through hunger, violence, drug addiction,

and the challenges of monitoring child protection services. 

“The response to Invisible Child has been overwhelming, with readers across the globe,” said Elliott. It is being translated into Japanese, Chinese, German, and Spanish.

Recipient of many awards for her work, Elliott is the first woman in history to win Pulitzers in both Arts & Letters and Journalism. She won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize in Feature Writing for “An Imam in America,” a three-part series about the life of a Muslim leader in Brooklyn.

Elliott reflected on the undergraduate course she is currently teaching. “I’m thrilled to be teaching creative nonfiction at Princeton with the Ferris program, which brings a formidable roster of journalists to campus every year,” she said. “Young fiction writers are told to ‘write what you know.’ Well, I am teaching what I know: immersion. This is the reporting practice of going deep, of embedding in another person’s world.”

Elliott’s students are undergoing their own immersive journalism experiences. “My students are each immersing in an off-campus community of their choosing in order to produce longform narrative stories,” she explained. “So far, they have surpassed my expectations. They’re doing graduate level work. I’m proud.”

HomeFront Chief Executive Officer Sarah Steward commented on the April 27 event and the crucial challenges faced by agencies like HomeFront. “This special night will remind us of the power of community to inspire change — the change that Andrea and Chanel have created through the power of their story and words and the change that we can create together to build a world where all families can succeed,” she said. “The women and men who support HomeFront’s Women’s Initiative give us hope for a better tomorrow.”

The upcoming reception will benefit HomeFront’s work to address basic needs in the Central Jersey area. Their Women’s Initiative, founded nearly 15 years ago, is a group of 1,000 local women of all ages who provide expertise and support to help alleviate family homelessness in the community. Each member donates $100 annually with the goal of contributing a total of $100,000 towards services at HomeFront that urgently need support.

HomeFront reports that this year has been exceptionally hard for so many because of inflation and large increases in local rents. They’re currently welcoming nearly 1,800 households a month to their food pantries for groceries, period products, and baby formula.  Last month they distributed more than 146,000 diapers and wipes, an 87 percent increase over this time last year, and they anticipate distributing more than two million diapers and wipes to local families this year.

Tickets for the April 27 HomeFront event range from $200 to $300, which includes dinner and a copy of Invisible Child. Sponsorships are also available. Call (609) 989-9417 x107 or visit HomeFront’s website at homefrontnj.org for tickets and more information.