What we talk about when we talk about homeless people

 

        Thanks to this project, my teammates and I got a chance to have a better understanding about homeless people in Gainesville.

Our goal is to try to find stories about homelessness in Gainesville. We interviewed about 20 homeless people, the stories they shared were impressive. More importantly, they changed my stereotype about those special group of people. Here are what I learned about homelessness.

 

        1.     Being homeless doesn’t mean they don’t have a job or family, some people choose to be homeless because they don’t want to suffer from unaffordable rents. Some students choose to be homeless because they want to save money for tuition and living expenses. People who suffered from high pressure may also become homeless.

 

        2.     Hunger is no longer the main problem. Nowadays food and water are easier to find, there are shelters that serve food regularly and most of the homeless community know exactly how to get a meal. But drug addict is also part of the issue. It’s hard to help them by giving only few changes or a bottle of water. What’s more, quality foods are also limited.

 

 

        3.     You will never know when you will be homeless, it can happen to anyone. Some people become homeless in one night. Someone may lose his wallet during his trip. Someone is fired and he gets a big family to support. He may losses all his stocks.

 

        4.     Some people choose to become homeless on purpose. When I did the interview in dignity village, some people said that they just want to stay here being homeless. They even enjoyed being homeless because they got nothing to worry. Some people even refused to go shelter and enjoyed the life on the street.

 

 

        5.     The shelter cannot solve any problems, I’ve been to the Grace Marketplace, I still see many tents outside the gate, and facilities they offered are of poor quality. One of the interviewees told me that he never see donations and the food there are not enough to eat. There are still plenty of people chose leave shelter every day.