I was handing out Hanes socks to a woman next to Justin when he speaks up and asks me for socks stating he’s also on the streets! “I may be the part, but I don’t want to look the part,” Justin says to me after I mention he doesn’t look homeless.
Most people believe that individuals who are experiencing homelessness look dirty and unkempt. Much of that misinformation comes from nonprofit fundraising materials and wrong stereotypes reinforced in the media that portray homeless people as bums and helpless! The truth is, the majority of homeless people do not look any different than you or me.
Justin has been homeless off and on for the last ten years! He was in foster care, but when he turned 18, he didn’t want to transition from the system for kids to the system for adults. He tried to make it on his own, but that resulted in periods of homelessness!
