Day 159: November 10 2009. Homeless Day 2

I spent the most part of the day wandering the streets of downtown. I was waiting to hear from Subway but no luck. I went in and after the told me they needed closers the day before they said they weren't hiring today. I came across another large crowd of homeless people by the public library. Such a sad sight to see. It makes it hard for the smiling peron I am to smile. The homeless population here must number in the thousands. Some are mentally handicapped but from what I have seen the most have recently lost their jobs and homes in the recent economic downturn, while their executives enjoy raises and bonuses. What kind of fucked up shit is that? The woman that sleeps on the mattress behind me on A street parallel to the fence of a parking lot was telling me her story.

She lost her job and house on the same week. She lived in her van after and when she couldn't make payments on that too, the police came and took it and her dog from her and put her in jail for fighting back. With the last of her savings she bailed herself out and paid $150 to take her dog out. She carries everything she has left in a shopping cart. When we got up before the sunrise this morning, before people start to show up for work, and we are forced to leave, she apologized if she kept me awake at night because of her cough. When I asked where I coould get some breakfast, she gave me a banana, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a trailmix bar.

Before the end of my night as I was sitting on the corner of 5th and Market a guy offered me a subway sandwich. When I asked him why he did it he said that would hope someone would do the same if he was in my situation. Being homeless completely changes the concept of everyday struggles. Finding a place to shit in privacy is impossible. The public restrooms door is wide open, the toilets do not have their own doors. Fast food franchises make you pay a quarter at the door to enter like a phone booth and no private restaurant will let me in. Showers, you have to sign up for at a place called St Vincent De Paul and there is no provacy there either. I eat once a day and my body is in starvation mode; Im actually gaining weight, storing every meal I take in to the max.