Originally made by a team tasked to raise money from the streets for the shelter, the Homeless Voice was born from the knowledge that freedom of press was a way to raise awareness. We started as a flyer, then a 4-page newsprint, then finally becoming the voice of the homeless with the Homeless Voice newspaper and website in 1999.
The Homeless Voice is owned by the COSAC Foundation, a multi-faceted non-profit agency that feeds, shelters, and arranges access to social and medical services to every homeless person that enters its shelters. We aim to enable them to return to a self-reliant lifestyle, but for the small percentage of people incapable, we provide a caring and supportive environment for long-term residency. Contributers
In this newspaper we hope to present the problems that the homeless population faces day-to-day, the problems these people personally face, and the ways that laws can help and hinder them.
Visit us at to read past issues, see online-only content, and a full map of where you can find this paper.
Many of our vendors are clients of our shelters, brought to different major cities to vend this paper in return for a donation. Based out of Lake City — where our Veterans Inn shelter and Motel 8 is located — or Davie, they are always brought out in groups of four to help each other stay motivated and keep each other company. They’re given plenty of food and water for the day and don bright shirts to distinguish them as our vendors.
Depending on their specific job in vending this newspaper, all vendors take in about 75% of donations that day, with the remaining 25% put back into the paper.
We distribute in all major cities throughout Florida, including Tallahassee, Lake City, Jacksonville, Tampa, Orlando, Daytona, Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, and now Gainesville.
Anti-Feeding
Helping hurts when Florida penalizes feeding the homeless
By Mary Rasura
A New Vision for Homelessness in Melbourne
Council and public disagree on how to fulfill support
By Mary Rasura
Florida's AntiCamping Laws
Harder to count does not mean missing
By Mary Rasura
Homelessness and Neurodiversity
Discovering my own mental illness while an adult, and homeless
By Mary Stewart
Support has limits when its access is not guarenteed
By Mary Stewart
Stewart
Homelessness and Neurodiversity
Discovering my own mental illness while an adult, and homeless.
By Mary Stewart
Ihad just been kicked out of the Salvation Army in Kentucky for suggesting that an employee apply for a job at a prison as she'd make an excellent drill sergeant. It was taken the wrong way, just like many things I say at times. I have the tendency to stick my foot in my mouth.
I immediately regretted my comment as it was a great place to get on your feet even though the rules were overly strict. But I made the best of my situation and panhandled money for breakfast at a popular fast food restaurant.
I've rocked back and forth since early childhood, but stopped for a while until the onset of PTSD. As I ate my meal, drank my coffee, and listened to music on my phone in the outdoor sitting area, the manager came over and told me I had to leave because my rocking was scaring customers.
These types of situations have occurred throughout my entire life, and I finally know why: I have Autism Spectrum Disorder, Level 1, High Functioning. However, my condition was initially misdiagnosed as early onset schizophrenia at eight years old.
At first I was placed in after school therapy at age six for tantrums, banging my head, biting myself, and chewing my hair. I did well in school, but didn't get along with other kids — I preferred playing alone in my bedroom with My Little Ponies or reading books. Occasionally, I'd play with my second cousins, but never made many friends. My academic skills were my strong point. I was a straight A student and made the principal's honor roll every semester. I also loved to write and had color coded file folders where I stored my short stories, poems, and publisher’s contact information.
But I was misunderstood.
My aunt tried so hard to socialize me. She drove my grandma and I to therapy appointments, created a behavior chart, started a Girl Scout troop, and took me roller skating on Saturdays. I learned how to communicate better, but my behavior didn't improve much.
My grandma told me that she never believed I was schizophrenic but didn't know how to help me. I was stuck seeing psychiatrists and taking heavy duty antipsychotic medication with bad side effects. I was called names like “halfwit” and “batty in the head” by my own family.
Eventually, I began threatening suicide and rebelling as a pre-teen. My aunt and uncle had enough and abandoned me at a hospital at age 13. I haven't been
welcome home since, aside from staying with cousins from time to time.
After successfully breaking out of the system at 19, I fell in love with bad boys and began self-medicaticating my issues with drugs and alcohol. I usually held down part-time minimum-wage jobs, but mainly depended on my grandma and SSI for financial support. Then, Hurricane Wilma destroyed my trailer in 2005 and I became homeless on and off for the next 20 years. Some people question how I've been victimized so many times, but my social and emotional impairment makes me easy prey on the streets. This has led to my additional diagnosis of PTSD.
I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me: I'm a fighter and a survivor. I enjoy camping out somewhere peaceful and quiet where I can lay in my tent and read books and wake up to the sounds of nature. Shelters are usually overwhelming for me, and I'm often kicked out for panic
attacks and emotional meltdowns.
At 22, the doctors finally said that I'm not schizophrenic, instead that I have Bipolar disorder and Borderline Personality disorder. In 2007, they added the diagnosis of PTSD. All of that made sense, but didn't explain all the problems I've had my whole life.
Eventually, two doctors added the diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome, but it wasn't included in my permanent record as I had never been tested for autism. I didn't get the correct diagnosis until I was evaluated at 43.
I was angry. How did so many doctors miss this over the years? I spoke to a clinician who specializes in autism and was shocked to find out that high functioning autism is often misdiagnosed and that it's not uncommon for autistic people to have other mental health disorders.
I found out that there are additional resources for people with autism, including housing options. However, many of the programs I've looked into are expensive or require private health insurance. They're also often geared to lower functioning autistic people with legal guardians.
My particular type of autism only causes mild impairment. Some high functioning autistic people grow up to get married and graduate college and can pursue high-paying careers. It never had to be like this for me. But I was misdiagnosed, abandoned by my family, and left to fend for myself on the streets.
I can't blame it on everyone else, though. My family did try to help me, but I was stubborn. I turned to substances to cope, became an alcoholic, and now have a criminal record. I just still believe that this could have all been prevented if I had gotten the right diagnosis and treatment from the beginning.
I admit that I have trouble living in group environments and building a support system. I do have plenty of friends that I met while homeless and attend small church groups. I prefer solitude to an extent, but also crave some social connection, just not all the time.
I also have trouble holding down jobs, but that's mainly been due to substance abuse and transportation. Other jobs have been too overwhelming for me with my condition, and unfortunately it's hard to find jobs outside of the fast food industry when you have a spotty work history and criminal record.
But there's been a silver lining to all of this.
Thanks to being in individual and group therapy throughout my childhood, I have abilities that some similarly autistic people don't have. I can communicate verbally and non-verbally, enjoy occasional small talk, understand some abstract concepts, and I’m very independent.
It turns out that there's an overlap between autism treatment and mental health therapy. I didn't need to take antipsychotics, but the social and coping skills groups were very beneficial. My biggest issues are needing affordable independent living, trauma counseling, and substance abuse treatment.
Autism doesn't cause as many problems for me as it did in my early childhood, but I'll always be different, so please be patient with me if you notice me rocking or take something I say or do the wrong way.
It still doesn't seem right to me, though, that autism is often misdiagnosed and that I'm far from alone in my struggles. Autistic people shouldn't be tossed aside from their families, and we definitely shouldn't be homeless. We don't need a cure. We need acceptance, awareness, and support. And we need to have a place to call home.
A New Vision for Homelessness in Melbourne
The city has voted to support homelessness, but not everyone agrees on how to fulfill that support.
By Mary Rasura
In the heart of Melbourne, Florida, where benches were removed from downtown less than a year ago to deter homeless loitering, the city council has now approved a $3 million agreement to support a permanent affordable housing development known as Providence Place.
The project aims to house individuals experiencing chronic homelessness in Melbourne, while simultaneously shutting down the town’s longtime soup kitchen and day-shelter, Daily Bread. The vote for the 3 million dollar grant to support Providence Place after the project’s completion was unanimous during the city’s March 11 council meeting.
Supporters described the development as both pragmatic and transformational.
“When we provide that place, at Providence Place, where people are staying inside, there will be no need for people to loiter, hang around, sleep nearby,” Jeffrey Njus, executive director of Daily Bread, said at the meeting.
The organization has agreed to end its on-site services and transition towards mobile outreach instead.
The plan for Providence Place includes a 50-year
affordability clause to ensure the building, once completed, remains dedicated to housing low-income residents. Construction must begin by 2026, with units available for occupancy by the end of 2027.
In addition to housing, Providence Place will offer a range of on-site services including healthcare, onsite dining, a lounge, resources for skill development and laundry services. The facility will be staffed with security and support personnel all day, every day. The goal, developers say, is to provide both stability and a path toward long-term independence.
Keith Donald, founder of Steady Town — a private foundation focused on community development according to their Facebook — and one of the project’s lead developers, emphasized that the initiative goes beyond just housing.
“This isn’t about housing. It’s about partnership,” he told council members during public comment. “The city’s role is so essential. Your leadership matters to me. It motivates. These types of decisions have a positive cascading effect. They inspire us and they inspire others to do more.”
But for some business owners that vision has yet to
match the on-the-ground reality.
“We had a guy in front of our store screaming, yelling, running around, punching a light pole,” Carlos Menendez, who owns Gator Automotive Group near the proposed site, said at the meeting. “I lost a customer. My staff is afraid to go out there.”
Menendez questioned the decision to place Providence Place near a cluster of schools and businesses.
“I’m not opposed to helping those in need,” he continued. “But I am concerned about the safety of our businesses and our children.”
Menendez’s concerns were echoed by several residents during public comment who acknowledged the city’s homelessness crisis but worried about its visible impacts, especially as services like meals and showers become mobile and spread throughout the city.
Objections like these are part of a broader pattern known as NIMBYism, short for “Not In My Backyard.” Studies from organizations like the Greater Victoria Homeless Coalition and the Ontario Human Rights Commission have found that typical NIMBY-based fears such as rising crime or falling property values rarely materialize once facilities open. These studies show that these reactions are driven more by fear and perceived inconvenience than by actual evidence of harm.
Amber Caroll, executive director of the Brevard Homeless Coalition, responded to these concerns with data.
“Over the last four years, we’ve seen nearly three times as many individuals and families move from homelessness into stable, permanent housing,” she told the council in the March meeting. “People are spending, on average, 40 fewer days without a home. […] Fewer people are falling back into homelessness.”
The coordinated entry system Caroll oversees is designed to prioritize people with long-standing ties to Brevard County. That detail mattered to Vice Mayor and District 3 Council Member David Neuman, whose district includes the Daily Bread site and the future location of Providence Place.
“Instead of saying ‘not in my backyard,’ I say: in Melbourne, we lead,” Neuman said during deliberations. “I would like to ask this Council to take this historic moment and vote unanimously in favor of this agreement.”
The council did just that.
“My vision for Providence Place is that it would have a culture of recovery,” said Njus, the Daily Bread director, in a follow-up interview with The Homeless Voice.
“There will be many people there that will be recovering from mental health issues, many people recovering from substance issues.”
He said that there will be resources at Providence Place for mental health and substance abuse treatment, including medically assisted treatment for substance use.
“But everybody, everybody who moves there will be recovering from trauma. For many of them, that’s trauma in the background of their developmental years, but for everyone if you’re coming off the streets, there’s the trauma of living on the streets,” Njus continued. “If there's one thing that has deepened in me in this work with people who are experiencing homelessness, it’s a deepening sense of honoring the trauma that people have experienced, and the resilience they’re going through.”
The Limits of Community Resources
By Mary Stewart
I've always considered myself to be well-informed on the availability of local community resources, but until recently, I rarely utilized them. It was just easier and less time-consuming to go out on the nearest median and hold my cardboard sign.
Recently, times have become tougher, and I've begun to thoroughly enjoy eating a hot lunch from Boca Helping Hands. I can still make money out on the road, but many people simply don't have it to give, and the cops have started to tell me to hold my sign on the sidewalk again.
I still go down to Changing Lives of Boca to volunteer my time, get my mail, and take a shower. Lately, many businesses have begun to turn off the water spigots in single user restrooms, presumably to stop homeless people from bathing. We are now becoming solely dependent upon the resources in our community.
I've been trying to keep an open mind and must admit that our local resources are very helpful and great places to turn to when in need. But at the same time, many outreach ministries are limited in the services that they're able to provide.
Heidi Jean of Changing Lives of Boca put it this way: “We're just not getting enough funding in Boca, and our agency doesn't receive grant money, we rely upon donations. Also, there's ministries and programs out there that we don't know about or we'd be trying to coordinate with them.”
As a panhandler, I understand what it's like to depend on donations. Sometimes I have a pocket full of money, and other days I'm barely scraping by. It's obvious that local outreach ministries do want to make a difference, but with limited funding, only so much can be done.
My friend Cindy was huge on turning to local resources to help her during her relatively brief episode of homelessness — she praised the outreach programs that she went to for food and dental care.
Cindy inspired me to check out these places myself from her talk on daily hot meals, along with snacks and canned goods to take with her. I was reluctant as I've been surviving on the streets for so long, but decided to give her the benefit of the doubt, as she even got her teeth cleaned free of charge and told me how one
"It's obvious that local outreach ministries do want to make a difference, but with limited funding, only so much can be done."
homeless man received a bike and help with a job and housing after being released from prison.
At the same time, though, she noticed a few flaws in the system. Primarily, that many outreach workers didn't really understand her situation as they had never been there themselves.
“These people obviously have never been homeless,” Cindy told me. “I don't need a whole bag of socks. I can't carry that. I just need one pair. If I ever get out of this situation, I'm thinking of doing something to help the homeless because I understand their needs.”
While it is true that it's hard to empathize with what a person is going through unless you've been there yourself, it's still heart-warming to know that there are people out there who care enough about the homeless to make an effort in meeting our needs.
But Cindy isn't the only one who has noticed that many people who try to help us simply don't “get” our situation. Another person I spoke with, who didn’t want his name published, had a similar complaint.
“I don't need a huge bag of clothes that don't fit me or a bag of non-perishable foods when I don't even have a way to cook,” he told me. “I need money. I can't make it out here on the streets without money.”
I've noticed that a lot of people don't like to give money to the homeless, but the reality is that we do need to have a few bucks in our pockets — not just for beer and cigarettes, either. We need money for things like laundry and bus fare, too.
We could know about every resource in our community, but it isn't going to do us any good unless we have transportation to get there. Some places sell all-day and reduced-fare, 31-day bus passes, but you need money to purchase them.
As far as clothing, I'm always grateful for a bag of women's clothes. I give away the items that don't fit me or place them in a donation box. Cindy used to give a lot of her canned food away to families in need. Even if we're given something we can't use, it doesn't have to go to waste.
I kept an open mind and took Cindy's advice by checking out Cafe Joshua. I immediately felt at home there. I was greeted with smiles and a warm welcome. I missed lunch that day but was able to snack on fresh baked cookies and charge my phone. I look forward to going back. I've heard the food is delicious.
Some local ministries offer assistance with job training and placement and even housing. But those I know of require the person to already be housed or have a valid driver's license and a vehicle to qualify for job training. Most homeless people don't have those things, but we can still benefit from other services offered.
At the end of the day, jobs and housing are our biggest needs, though. I've found out about other housing options through local ministries, but there are waiting lists and you have to meet the eligibility criteria. Some of us simply don't qualify for certain programs.
I personally think that the biggest limitation of community resources are the times that you need to be there as many working homeless people can't access resources due to their work schedule. Even without a job, I struggle with hunger on days that I have appointments.
Otherwise, I'm actually impressed by many of the services available to homeless people in my area. Sure, they only cover some of my needs and I don't qualify for many of the programs, but for now, I am thankful for a hot meal, a charged phone, and an occasional shower.
anti-feeding
anti-feeding
In Florida, even kindness can get you cuffed. Across the state, local governments have been passing ordinances restricting or outright banning food sharing in public spaces for years. In practice, these ordinances can take away some of the few options for free food people have left.
In 2006, Orlando passed an ordinance limiting group feedings in public parks to just two a year per location without a permit. This prompted a years-long legal battle with Food Not Bombs — a loose network of mutual aid groups that have been sharing free food to anyone that needs it since the 1980s — that questioned whether food sharing could be protected under the First Amendment. In 2011, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Orlando’s ordinance restricting public food-sharing in city parks, affirming a limit of just two permitted events per park each year.
Only a few years later, a 90-year-old man was arrested in Fort Lauderdale for feeding homeless residents in a public park due to a 2014 ordinance restricting food sharing in public spaces. The law had required food providers to set up portable toilets and handwashing stations and prohibited distribution within 500 feet of residential areas. Though a lower court initially upheld the ordinance, a federal appeals court reversed that decision in 2018 ruling that food sharing is a form of protected free speech.
And in 2023, a Palm Beach County judge ruled that West Palm Beach’s ordinance restricting food sharing was unconstitutional due to flaws in the city’s permitting process. The ruling didn’t hinge on free speech agreements, but on the ordinance’s failure to provide a clear, consistent process for obtaining permits.
The ordinance itself states that a large group can only get two feeding permits per year in a public space, followed by a list of named parks.
“We technically won and we went back to doing our regular shares, however I think the end result of this is that it ended up intimidating a lot of people out of volunteering which severely affected our ability to do the job we’re trying to do,” said T., a West Palm Beach Food Not Bombs volunteer who requested their full name not be used for safety reasons.
“This whole thing, it’s just been an intimidation tactic. The city has this thought ‘okay, we want to get rid of homeless people from our busy, business areas in our downtown.’”
They described how the group had originally held food shares every Saturday at Clematis Street, a bustling strip in Downtown West Palm Beach surrounded by high-end businesses, but were forced to relocate after repeated police confrontations and threats of arrest. They now operate out of José Martí Park, a quieter location not explicitly listed in the ordinance.
“It’s named after a Cuban freedom fighter,” they added, reflecting on the connection to José Martí Park. “Business and capitalism is unsuited to feeding and to taking care of the most vulnerable people in our society.” They expect a lot less likely people who are in need of food will find them now that they’re off Clematis Street.
Food Not Bombs is not the only group affected either, as churches and non-profits who give out food fall under the ordinance as well.
As more Florida cities adopt or defend similar restrictions, the legal and ethical debate over foodsharing laws shows no signs of slowing. With courts increasingly questioning their constitutionality, the future of these ordinances may hinge on whether cities choose to prioritize public image, or public need.
"I think the end result of this is that it ended up intimidating a lot of people out of volunteering which severely affected our ability to do the job we’re trying to do."
People waiting in line for food from West Palm Beach Food Not Bombs. | Photo by Mary Rasura
ANTI-CAMPING LAWS
By Ma ry Rasu ra
may have skewed state homeless data
HHB 1365, Florida’s recent law banning outdoor sleeping and camping, may be reshaping homelessness not by solving it but by making it harder to count.
Palm Beach County announced in March that homelessness had dropped 28.5% since last year — a sudden decrease not seen since 2012 according to their own previous data — along with stating that volunteers struggled to locate people experiencing unsheltered homelessness and the new law may have influenced this.
The volunteers are tasked with counting people for the 2025 Point-In-Time Count, conducted over a 24hour period in January, which Palm Beach released on March 25. They found 914 unsheltered individuals with 606 residents in shelters or transitional housing.
Signed into law in 2024 and taking effect October 1 of that year, HB 1365 prohibits individuals from camping or sleeping in public spaces such as sidewalks, parks, and streets. It allows for state intervention if municipalities fail to provide designated shelters.
Point-in-Time counts are already understood to underrepresent the true scope of homelessness.
“Unfortunately, the methods used by HUD to conduct the PIT counts produce a significant undercount of the homeless population at a given point in time,” reads a 2017 report from the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty. “In addition, regardless of their methodology or execution, point in time counts fail to account for the transitory nature of homelessness and thus present a misleading picture of the crisis.”
The report elaborates that “people need to be seen in order to be counted,” and laws that criminalize homelessness along with sleeping, lying and loitering only further the issue of undercounting — laws that have been increasing in prevalence since 2016 it says.
"Unfortunately, the methods used by HUD to conduct the PIT counts produce a significant undercount..."
Another issue with PIT data is that people who are not homeless in the standard sense but couch-surfing with family and friends would not be on the streets during a PIT count, yet are still lacking permanent housing. It also excludes people who are currently in jails or hospitals.
Even more, last year’s PIT data showed homelessness in the U.S. at an all-time high with 771,480 people experiencing it in some form — an 18% increase over the previous year and largest jump in the history of the count.
HUD emphasizes in their PIT methodology guide that these numbers are “used by Congress, HUD, other federal departments, and the general public to understand the nature and extent of homelessness. HUD’s PIT count data has become increasingly important as a measure of our local and national progress related to preventing and ending homelessness…” These counts help inform grants, policy-making, funding and more nation-wide.
“Every year we come together with our shared belief and commitment to effectively serve residents experiencing homelessness and work towards our common goal of ensuring that homelessness in Palm Beach County is rare, brief and nonrecurring,” said Wendy Tippett, director of PBC Community Services Department Human Services and Community Action Division, in the county’s news release. “We know that our work is not over, which is why we use the PIT Count numbers to make data-driven decisions on how to provide essential services to the areas most in need.”
The county continues that they will conduct a “more extensive analysis” of how the anti-camping law may have affected numbers once the rest of the state and country finishes their count.
The Working Homeless
By Mary Stewart
Some people claim that the reason people are on the streets is because we don't want to work. But nowadays that's far from the truth. The rising cost of living has created a relatively new breed of homeless people: the working homeless.
When I first became homeless in 2005, most of my friends panhandled in the medians, besides a few who worked day labor. In recent years, the majority of my old crowd has either died or gotten off the streets. Now, I’ve found that my friends are homeless but with jobs. The ones who are unemployed are willing to work, but have trouble securing employment.
In September, when I returned to Florida, I met a homeless man named Gerry. He sleeps on a bench in a shopping Plaza and wakes up early every morning to go to his full time job as a laborer.
Gerry is seeking housing and even has a case worker who offered to help him with move-in costs. He was hopeful a few times with prospective apartments lined up, but each one fell through.
I asked him what the hardest thing is about being homeless with a job: “Not having enough to afford housing,” he said. “Basically, the cost of living.”
Gerry also struggles with hygiene. He asked me just the other day how to shower in West Boca. I told him about the local outreach ministry that provides showers on Saturdays. I also had to inform him that during the week, I bathe with water jugs and that the only alternative is a gym membership.
He was disappointed to discover the lack of daily hygiene options. Gerry periodically gets motel rooms to have a place to wash up and a comfortable bed. However, motel costs are dipping into his apartment savings.
Gerry isn't alone in having a strong work ethic but still experiencing difficulty in securing housing. The number of working homeless people has steadily increased throughout the US in recent years. The homeless population doesn’t consist of alcoholics living under bridges who don't want to get sober and go to work.
Almost every homeless person who I currently know is either working or looking for a job besides those who are disabled or in need of substance abuse and mental health treatment.
I do know a few addicts who aren't ready to get clean and panhandle in the medians, but most of the people out there with signs are disabled.
The rest of the homeless people I know are getting up every day to go to work or hanging out at the library applying for jobs just like Gerry. Unfortunately, the income they may receive is often not enough to afford the cost of living without teaming up with a roommate, and some of them are reluctant to share an apartment.
“I'm willing to have a roommate, but it has to be the right person. I won't live with just anyone because I don't want there to be issues, such as arguments, and I need to know that I can depend on their part of the rent,” said Gerry. “I have to know a person before I live with them.”
Shelters aren't always an option either due to the proximity from work.
My friend Cindy was working with a local outreach ministry that gave her incentives to get a job and offered to help her with housing once she had income. Every day, she ate at soup kitchens and sold plasma for money while she tirelessly applied for jobs on her phone.
"Almost every homeless person who I currently know is either working or looking for a job..."
Eventually, she did obtain employment, but her job was too far from available housing programs, and she didn't have a car. She took an Uber to her first day on the job and spent the night at her gym. Her plan was to borrow money to rent a car and sleep in it until her first paycheck.
I understand because I've been there myself.
I held down two jobs before while homeless, the at a McDonald's. I thought I was dreaming when I crawled out of the bushes one morning and was offered a job with my coffee instead of fries with my shake. The manager explained that they wanted to hire a homeless panhandler and for some reason, they chose me. I woke up early every morning to go to work and was proud of my job.
Back then, there were still hot water spigots behind the plaza. I'd fill up jugs and bathe at my camp. I got free lunch at work but at first, I still had to panhandle for dinner.
That's another issue with being homeless with a job. Often, the person's schedule prevents them from making it to soup kitchens to eat. This can even be problematic at shelters. While living at the Salvation Army in Kentucky, I had a job, but sometimes didn't make it back to the shelter in time for dinner and had to go hungry.
Some friends of mine get around that by eating out of dumpsters until payday, or using publicly available microwaves, or buying a propane stove to cook food from pantries.
One of my friends periodically works sign flying jobs for local businesses. He's one of the dumpster divers and always grateful for a good meal. He recently learned about Boca Helping Hands and told me that you'll get fat if you go to that place regularly as he rubbed his stomach and smiled.
Currently, he's out of work and back holding his own cardboard sign, but he's looking for a job which will mean once again depending on people's trash for food until payday.
Transportation can be a challenge too. The last job I held while homeless was all the way in Wellington. There were plenty of days when I missed the last bus back to my camp and had to walk miles from the Town Center Mall to get home.
Eventually, it became too much and interfered with my dependability. I lost my job.
Another homeless friend of mine works for contractors and does maintenance for a shopping center. He has a storage unit, a phone, and keeps money in his pocket. He's determined to one day move back into a high end community. With his motivation, hard work, and determination, I believe that his dream may very well become a reality.
The truth is that most unemployed homeless people aren't lazy. We just have too many barriers to employment or trouble finding work. And some of us are disabled or have limitations on our work ability. Many of us are working or are willing to work, but even with a job, it's often hard to find affordable housing. Gerry says that he can only afford $850 per month in rent and it's been almost impossible to find something that cheap. He's started to focus on other goals such as reinstating his drivers license and he recently purchased a scooter to get to work.
Yet Gerry still keeps getting up every morning to go to work. When I asked him what his motivation is to keep working, he replied, “I need to keep going to work in order to survive.”
