The first thing you notice about Jessica LeClair is the sparkly eye shadow highlighting her auburn eyes and freckled cheekbones framed by a thick head of wavy, strawberry blond hair.

Her costume jewelry is cheerful: a silvery barrette reining in a lock of hair, rings sporting pink stones on her left hand and green ones on her right, with bracelets of the same colors on either wrist. The scent of vanilla emanates from her being.

LeClair, 50, of Waterville, carries her belongings around in a red L.L.Bean knapsack, a large pink and purple shopping bag with pictures of Dora the Explorer and Hello Kitty on it, and a lavender-colored pocketbook, all of which are connected by clips.

LeClair is soft-spoken and immediately friendly, despite her circumstances.

“I’ve been homeless off and on for the past eight years,” she said. “I live at the Mid-Maine Homeless Shelter and my caseworkers are helping me to try to find a place to stay. I was at the shelter for four years a while back and this time, about six months. I want to get an apartment in Waterville because this is my home. I love it here.”

I met LeClair around noon Tuesday as she strolled the RiverWalk at Head of Falls on Front Street. It was sunny and a warm 75 degrees — nice for early October. A breeze blew off the Kennebec River.

LeClair said she grew up in the projects off Drummond Avenue with a sister and her parents, who were long-haul truckers.

“We were poor. We grew up poor. I’ve been poor my whole life. We were a loving, kind and gentle family.”

LeClair graduated from Waterville Senior High School and then for two years attended Kennebec Valley Technical College in Fairfield, where she studied office technology, business management and communications, she said. She also worked as a receptionist for a local nonprofit agency.

“I was doing well and everything,” she said. “I was getting A’s and B’s.”

But one day in class, she had what she described as a “hot flash,” and was overwhelmed with anxiety. She wasn’t able to continue with college, nor could she continue in her job, she said.

“I have bipolar manic depressive disorder, schizoaffective disorder and ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), which means you can’t really pay attention in class. That’s why I dropped out. I have a disability. I’ve been in and out of mental health hospitals my whole life. If I’m working, I get depressed and I can’t take care of myself. Having an apartment gets overwhelming.”

So, it’s a struggle to stay anxiety-free and comfortable in her skin, but she works at it. She walks every day, which helps, she said.

“When the sun is strong, I get vitamins in my system. It cheers me up. I feel happier.”

Never married, she has two children: a daughter, 26, who works two jobs and whom she sees sometimes, she said, and a son, 10, who lives with her mother in the Bangor area.

“I get to see him when I want to,” she said. “My mother takes care of my son for me. She does an excellent job. She comes and gets me.”

LeClair said her father, a veteran, died nine years ago from cancer caused by his exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.

She said she is a Jehovah Witness, and has read the Bible 21 times.

“The Bible holds hope for the future,” she said. “Someday, everybody’s going to love one another and we’ll be at peace.”

As she spoke, a flock of seagulls swooped and squawked on the grassy riverside lawn when a man tossed out pieces of food. A mockingbird in a nearby tree belted out a bevy of songs. LeClair smiled.

“That means God’s going to bless us, I think,” she said. “That could happen.”

Before parting, I asked what she wants others to know about people who are homeless.

“That they have feelings too,” she said. “People should show love by giving to the poor one crying for help.”

Amy Calder has been a Morning Sentinel reporter 37 years. Her columns appear here Sundays. She is the author of the book “Comfort is an Old Barn,” a collection of her curated columns published in 2023 by Islandport Press. She may be reached at [email protected]. For previous Reporting Aside columns, go to centralmaine.com.