What is it like to Be Homeless? Part Two

To sum up "What Is It Like To Be Homeless?" it feels like this:

When you first make the transition from homed to street it feels like you are a little kid in a foreign land where you do not speak the language. You do not have a road map and have no experience navigating this new land. You feel helpless and even hopeless. Depending upon your life experiences and skills you devise a plan. You begin to see humanity in a new light because people who used to treat you with dignity and respect suddenly find you a vile, disgusting, dirty thing. Some people panic and become full of anxiety. Some get angry. Life becomes about one thing: survival and taking care of one's very basic human needs.

You learn a new appreciation for things that you once took for granted, like having an every ready toilet to empty your bladder or bowels when "nature calls". You miss your sink, shower or tub and hot running water. You miss the refrigerator and stove; the table to sit at to eat a meal. Depending upon ones age, when you wake up in the morning, every part of your body hurts. Your feet develop calluses and sores from walking everywhere and keeping your shoes on 24 hours a day. Even in a warm climate you are constantly cold. No matter how many hours you sleep, you are constantly tired. And hungry.

You find that you became an instant criminal the moment you became homeless. Even if you are lucky enough to have a vehicle, laws make it a crime to sleep anywhere. You are outside in rain, sleet, snow, heat and gale force winds. If you are able to find an illegal bit of shelter from the elements those winds often blow the freezing rain into them. Dry spots quickly fill up with water. Being homeless is a constant struggle to stay dry or dry out. An alcoholic can give up hopes of drying out while living upon the streets. Alcohol not only keeps you warm, it sillies your mind so you do not have to think anymore.

Once homeless you begin to do things that you would never have considered doing when you were homed. You make homeless raincoats from black plastic trash bags. Desperate to be off the streets, if even for one night, might cause a woman to go home with a man she just met. A man might charm a female with words of love simply to gain access to her home. You sleep in parking decks. You ask strangers for money. Or food. You brush your teeth in public restrooms. Criminal types often commit crimes with the hopes of going to jail for a roof, toilet and 3 meals a day.

I understand Kevin Barieux's testiness with those that ask the question: "What is it like to be homeless?". It is the opposite of what it is like to be homed.

Related AC Article: "What It's Like To Live on the Street" by Chuck Hinston