Hidden Homelessness

We all think we know the signs of homeless; scruffy man on a corner, dirty clothing, unkempt,  begging for change.  But that's just a stereotype - the homeless are all around.  And the signs aren't so obvious.

Would you guess he was homeless?

We were in Copley Plaza the other day, grabbing some lunch after a visit to the dentist. While enjoying the cool early November weather, along walks one of our buddies "MJ", a regular along Boston's "Methadone Mile".  MJ is a young man who we instantly connected with almost a year ago.  As we talked to MJ about how he had been, I looked around Copley - and noticed no one looking at us funny.

You would think seeing a couple people hanging out with a homeless man along an affluent street in Boston would raise some eyebrows.  But then I looked at MJ and confirmed my suspicions; MJ does not "look" homeless.

MJ looks like everyone else.  His clothes that day were clean (at least to anyone looking at them).  He had a nice coat on, his hat covered is hair desperate for shampoo, and his unkempt beard resembled that of a college hipster.  His backpack didn't stand out; several others had similar backpacks.  To the many walking by Copley, he just bumped into a couple of friends.

You might think this was the exception; but it's not.  It's the rule.  We saw another friend of ours that day; "Cuba".  It was only for a second, he didn't even notice us.  But, he looked like the others at Copley that day.  

The Hidden Homeless are the ones people don't see.  They see the panhandlers near Boston Medical Center or at Copley Plaza.  But they don't see the ones who look like "us" with homes.  They look, smell, and dress like "us".  Make no mistake, other than living in a shelter, behind a church, or along Melnea Cass Boulevard, they are just like "us".

When you think about it, why wouldn't a homeless person be anything less than one of "us"? They are us...