I lived in Chicago for a few years. One evening when my friends and I went into a taco restaurant, we passed a young man standing near the entrance who appeared to be homeless but was not panhandling or begging. During my meal, I could not shake the sense that this man needed dinner and that I needed to get it for him. After the meal, I purchased a bag full of tacos and offered it to the man as we left. He expressed his gratitude, and I smiled. I do not remember what he said or what I said, but I remember my friends being shocked and one saying, “I wish I had thought of that.”
What does a homeless person look like? When we think of “the homeless,” we have a tendency to think of those in a chronic homelessness situation. We picture someone who has not bathed, wears tattered clothes, and wanders the street aimlessly. We assume they are alcoholics, drug addicts, mentally ill, or war veterans. However, only approximately 18 percent of people living without a home face chronic homelessness, and nearly 82 percent are transitional or episodic. This population includes people “crashing” on friends’ couches and families between homes. In other words, a person without a home may look different than what we have come to expect.
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