Are there different profiles of homeless people?
Sure- and the demographic continues to change. We see a broad range of individuals- former foster youth, veterans, seniors, people with extensive educational/professional backgrounds (engineers, social workers, professors, pastors), those who are struggling with co-morbid conditions (addiction and mental health disorders, individuals with criminal justice background), and those who have been chronically homeless vs. recently homeless- it really runs the gamut. Homelessness doesn’t discriminate- it could be any one’s reality. I heard that there are some homeless people that prefer to be homeless and don’t want to integrate back into society. Is that true? We do encounter people who are entrenched in the culture of homelessness and find it difficult to re-integrate. We respect where they are at and work to give them a positive experience with “the system”. What about the people who try to beat the system and are just looking for a free handout? How do you address this issue? Many of our
