Meet Heather

Heather Interview with Bobbi Rathert:

HEATHER ARCHER is a former Houska Park Camper and a member of the Lived Experience Team. She is well-known in the Tent City community and Karuna House, where she helps others in any way she can. Heather begins her life story in 1998 when she was named ‘patient zero’ in a bacterial meningitis case and was near death, and then very ill for a considerable time.

“How do you see that impact your life now as an adult?” I asked. Heather responded, “I think being able to understand other people. I’m constantly on the fence – I see it that way and this way. I’ve gotten good at giving it some grace, and that’s a direct consequence of my life, a good thing. People get in their way, and I don’t think I’m doing any better than anybody else. I’m just different. I think everybody gets up every day and does the best that they can, with their limitations. Nobody is wrong. We’re just not completely right.”

“I still battle myself. I am still human in every way that matters. But we fight ourselves all the time. We are our own worst critics. But we can’t help it! A person walks into a room and thinks, ‘They’re staring at me, oh my goodness!’ You know everybody feels that way. Yeah, human things like that have happened in my life. It has just given me a different pair of glasses,” Heather says, “it’s just a little bit kinder to people around me now. Don’t get me wrong! I get it wrong all the time!”

You can find Heather’s full story in “Where’s Home: People Experiencing Homelessness in La Crosse County Share Their Stories.”

Want to hear more from Heather?
Check Out Her Interview with Goat Cart or Order Your Copy of Where’s Home? Today