community Service means Business!

20 January 2010

Panhandling in Chicago

via Change.org's End Homelessness Blog by Mark Horvath on 1/20/10

There was so much noise on Chicago's Michigan Avenue Bridge that I didn't notice Reggie was asleep. I felt bad. I should have remembered when I was homeless. Sleep came when I felt safe, or when I was so exhausted I collapsed. Rarely did sleep happen at night. Rarely did I rest when I was alone and vulnerable.

The night before I met him, Reggie slept on a friend's couch. More and more people, including families, are couch surfing as an alternative to being on the streets. They're invisible when it comes to homeless counts -- just like the growing number of people in weekly-rate hotels our government does not count as homeless. Reggie is lucky his friend is only charging $5 a night. As the economy gets worse I'm hearing more stories of people taking advantage of even their own relatives.

Reggie from InvisiblePeople.tv on Vimeo.

Posted via email from the Un-Official Southwestern PA Re-Entry Coalition Blog

No comments:

Talk2Me

be here-Now!

into the Gaping Void

My Friend Flickr

Talk Gone Wrong

Drop-off Box

drop.io: simple private sharing
Powered By Blogger

plan2planet

Blog Archive