There is almost no one who believes that I’d be un-homed and on the edge like this. Anyone who knows my background thinks “It can’t be. He has it all going so well!” Homeless people think the same thing but from another angle: “He’s too well spoken to be homeless. He must be a cop.”

There’s always a perception that overlays the reality.

Now I know that many homeless feel unseen. Sure there are lots of issues at hand, and many are chronically making bad choices. But the reasons for being here are made worse by what the world thinks it is seeing, and assumes is the reality behind each case. The bureaucracy around these issues doesn’t take into account these deeply seated assumptions that cause many homeless to distrust the outside world.

In some ways it allows people to fly under the radar, but even I can tell that’s not sustainable. Something trips everyone up, and distrust is one. The guy that thought I was a cop makes the most beautiful coconut frond baskets. He also has lost part of one leg to diabetes, is far from home, from family, and you can hear the regret in his voice on many things. But then he cracks a huge authentic smile and says, “But that’s the way it goes.”

I think he really believes it sometimes, but the sadness in the edges of his eyes speaks another story that I can only imagine. Maybe he’ll tell me later…once he trusts me enough.

Previous posts in this series:

• Keeping Perspective
• Achieving Homelessness
• Showers at the Natatorium