Having experienced homelessness, albeit temporarily, I can attest to the terrifying and demoralizing anguish brought on by the circumstance. While the impetus that led to the unfortunate event was my own choice to impulsively move to another state, the resulting predicament was completely out of my control. Although I made it to California (from Oklahoma) in one piece, I found, upon my arrival, that I had no place to live, or even sleep; I was completely alone. A series of disastrous events, which occurred while I was in transit, resulted in the elimination of my entire support network. A chance encounter with a stranger on the Greyhound bus, which we disembarked upon arrival in CA, led me to sleeping in his backyard tree house in a sleeping …show more content…
But, while that caricature of homelessness may be the stereotypical image, the reality of homelessness is quite different. The 2016 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress, compiled by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, presents a point-in-time snapshot of homelessness by detailing homeless numbers on a single night in 2016. Of the 549,928 people who were homeless on that night, 355,212 were individuals, 89% of which were over the age of 24 (1,20) . There were 194,716 members of homeless families with children, 35,686 unaccompanied children and teens, and 39,471 veterans (32, 44, 52). Only 77,486 of these people were classified as “chronically homeless” – those individuals who make up the stereotypical ranks of homeless in camps, under bridges, and on park benches (62). The old caricature of the “hobo” portrayed in political cartoons and popular media is not representative of the diversity of the homeless population. The homeless are just as likely to be women, children, teens, or whole