There seem to be many kinds of homeless people in San Luis Obispo county. It makes perfect sense that they are all different, since every person is unique. They are not just "homeless", as a summary of their personhood.
Most homeless people I've interacted with downtown or around work all seem to have one thing in common, besides homelessness: they all seem to have a few screws loose, though in what area of their brain the screws are loose varies. Some seem to be brilliant minds, too brilliant for their society or their own capacity. They are so fascinated by the psychological that they lose touch with reality. Perhaps some have lost everyone close to them, and as a result they become so lonely that they will engage you endlessly in conversation, just to have someone's attention. Assuredly, some are chemically imbalanced and simply cannot function as normal members of society, with jobs and families. One of these, a lady with silver hair who wore many layers of clothing, once screamed at me when I walked past her carrying a Victoria's Secret bag, "I don't think its a secret anymore!"
I've watched enough episodes of Intervention to know that not all those who sit on corners with cardboard signs are actually in need. I know not to hand change or cash to just anyone. I can never help buying a bag of dog food for the ones who have their pets with them.
Sometimes I feel angry when I see them begging, freeloading off the pity of others day in and day out instead of searching for solutions to their problems, wanting my hard-earned money for nothing.
But more often I can't ignore the quiet desperation in their eyes. I remember the pangs of emptiness, loneliness, confusion, and a loss for how to get myself out of my slump. Though not holding a cardboard sign, I freeloaded off the generosity of everyone who loved me. Though the cause of my grief was not initially my fault, I sat emotionally on a corner in the dirt and begged for a quick fix instead of finding a real solution.
How fine the line is between homelessness and a livelihood. Anything could send you and I to the streets, or to Social Services. Perhaps the poverty of so many more of us is not as obvious merely because it is not external.
