My second class was my “Outsiders and the Law” class. We were supposed to be discussing homelessness that class. Our professor got a group of four people to come from a homeless shelter. The director was one of them, and explained that we’d do a sort of ‘exercise’ first–of the three others, two were staff members at the shelter, and one was a resident of the shelter. We’d get to ask questions, and, at the end, guess which was the homeless person. (Something about “Spot the homeless guy!” seems insensitive, but I digress.)

The first person was a guy, probably mid- to late-twenties. He had several facial piercings, was clean-shaven and well-groomed. #2 was fairly well-dressed. #3 looked a little unkempt. He definitely fit my mental perceptions of what a homeless person would look like. Before we even started, I was positive it was #3.

One of the first questions was something like, “What’s it like to be homeless?” #1 said it could be liberating at times, but that at other times, it was no fun. (I’m heavily condensing answers.) #2 basically said it was a drag. #3 began with, “There’s nothing liberating about it.” I told you it was #3!

Another question basically asked their stories. #1 started using drugs, got hooked, and ended up being homeless. He told us, rightly somewhat proudly, that he’d been clean for 82 days. The inclusion of specific details like that made me reconsider a bit. But then #2 went and gave specific details galore. She was a victim of domestic violence. Her voice was really quiet and melancholy, and she looked at the floor the whole time she talked. She lost her job and ran out of friends to stay with, and her therapist referred her to the shelter. #3 was disabled, and one day his wife decided she didn’t want to be with him anymore. He left with not much but the clothes on his back, no source of income, and he couldn’t work. He receives SSDI, but not nearly enough to pay for an apartment.

All three basically said they were there until they got things together. None intended to stay there a moment longer than necessary, but with no job and no home, there wasn’t much else to do but stay in the shelter until they could land a job and get an apartment.

Someone else asked about the role of families, and why they weren’t with family. #1 praised his family, and said they’d really been there for him, but that they eventually stopped letting him into the house when he was on drugs (most of the time). And when he started stealing from them to buy more drugs, they kicked him out for good. #2 gave a somewhat vague answer, but I think her father was never there for her, and her mother supported her somewhat but usually wouldn’t let her stay over. Just the way she spoke screamed of utter despair. I started to think that it was #2, not #1. #3 was in his 50s, so moving in with his parents wasn’t exactly an option.

I asked about how they spent their days. #1 said that there were some “day programs” the shelter put on, but that there really wasn’t much to do. #2 has a part-time job at Dunkin’ Donuts, but talked about how hard it is to find jobs. You need to list a phone number on the application, which is the payphone at the shelter. It’s not answered too reliably. And everyone knows the address of the homeless shelter, so even though there’s no, “Are you homeless?” question on the application, most employers know it. Worst of all, she said, the shelter has a 4:30 curfew–if you’re not in by 4:30 p.m., you can’t come in. This doesn’t work too well with her job, and she’s also scorned by coworkers. (“She can’t work any later because she’s homeless!”) #3 talked about how he’ll spend some time in the library, and, with all the heat, he’d spend a fair amount of time at the beach, but he noted that it’s not nearly as glamorous as it sounds–with no money and nothing to do, spending time at the beach was really pretty miserable.

When we guessed, #1 received 1 vote. #2 received about 50%, including me. #3 received the other 50% or so.

It was #1. He’s been clean for 82 days, but he doesn’t have much to his name, and he describes himself as still healing. #2 and #3 both work at the shelter, but noted that their stories are a mix of their own past experiences and experiences of those they know.

It was really a good way to break some stereotypes, namely:

• The homeless person “looked” the least homeless…
• There’s an image of homeless people as burnouts who stay homeless forever. #1 was working hard to get his life back together, and seemingly making great strides.
• The perception of the homeless as all being alcoholics isn’t that accurate. Apparently about 30% self-identify as alcoholics, but we saw a myriad of reasons for homelessness.
• Sometimes the homeless hold jobs, but it’s hard for them to get those jobs, and having a job doesn’t automatically buy them a house.