Who are the Homeless?

A homeless person pushing a cartPhoto by Fares Hamouche on Unsplash 

The face of homelessness in America has dramatically changed over the years. Most people would agree, the representation of homeless persons in the thoughts of many Americans are negative. The following examples describe some of those stereotypes:

a drunk, filthy, smelly man riffling through a dumpster a bag lady pushing a cart filled with [what appears to be] a lot of junk the con-artist pretending to be homeless to get money

Thousands of Dollars on Homeless Dead Man

In a news story from 2009, there was a homeless person found that had thousands of dollars strapped to his body.  According to the Mail Tribune article, Homeless dead man found with thousands of dollars on him, the 85-year-old was found surrounded by his belongings. The police could not understand why someone with thousands of dollars strapped to his body would be homeless. 

SD shares that stories like the before mentioned story shaped her view of homeless people. She viewed them as con-artist manipulating people out of their hard-earned money. Those perceptions are no longer the reality for the majority of the homeless population in America.

The Present-Day Homeless Population   

When looking further into the state of homelessness today, one’s co-worker, classmate, family member or friend could be homeless and doing a good job at hiding the truth about the circumstances of his or her living situation. The question then becomes, “How do working people end up homeless?” The following three articles answer that question.

Tent Encampments on the Rise 

Homeless Tent EncampmentPhoto by Brandi Ibrao on Unsplash 

The first article was in The Washington Post, The rise of tent encampments is changing the face of American homelessness, by Terrence McCoy. McCoy told the story of a working woman (Monica Diaz) whose apartment building was condemned by the fire department. 

All tenants had to evacuate the building leaving Diaz and her husband homeless. They could not stay in a shelter because they had a dog. The shelters did not allow pets so they ended up living in a tent encampment. Her co-workers had no idea until it became difficult for her to maintain good hygiene; she was then fired from that job.

The Clean-up of Tent Encampments 

In the second article, Richmond Homeless on the Move Again After City Clears Large Tent Encampment, by Kate Wolffe of KQED News, Wolffe told the story of Cella Jones a homeless woman living in Richmond’s largest tent encampment. The city’s abatement crew was scheduled to do a clean-up; Jones arrived at her spot shortly after they began. She was able to collect some of her belongings before the area was cleaned and mulch spread over the site.

Homeless Because of Rent Increase and Health Issues  

The last article shared was, High rents create a new class of hidden homeless in Los Angeles, by Matt Morrison of CBS News. In this story, Morrison told the story of Ana Estrada, a social services caseworker. She and her 13-year old daughter had to live in her BMW SUV because of a $2000 rent increase and then some health issues that caused her to miss work, therefore losing money and their residence.

Forced eviction or Health Problems Leave People Street Bound 

Furthermore, some people are living paycheck to paycheck and sadly are only one paycheck away from homelessness. Also, something happens to someone who is renting or has a mortgage,