March 27, 2019

Mission Statement:

-To increase the accuracy of the public’s perception of homelessness

Contributors are designated by number only for the day on which what we have to say is published; the numbers aren’t permanent identifiers.

Homeless shelters aren’t named, also to protect the identities of contributors, who have every reason to fear retaliation from the shelters which are supposed to help us.  


March 27, 2019


Homeless Human 1:

When I was 16, DCF (Department of Children and Families) in Connecticut pulled me out of high school.  All I needed were 5 more credits to graduate.  I wanted to be a fashion designer.  At that time, Harvard had a fashion school; I could have gone to Harvard, Pratt, UConn and several different universities.  There was one out in California that I wanted to go to, too.  DCF turned around and said “We’re not paying your way through college.  We’re not paying for your graduation, your prom, high school class ring, school yearbook.”  When they realized that I was about to graduate and go to college, they pulled me out of high school and put me in their private school that was attached to the group home.  It was basically a room with a bunch of desks.  They even had a pool that was empty but filled with schoolbooks, like U.S. History, all of that.  I’d take them and bring them to my room, but then they would take them from me, telling me “You don’t need those, those are garbage.”

I argued with them, saying “Why can’t I go back to high school, why can’t I graduate?”  They said “We don’t have the funding for you to graduate.” 

When I turned 18, DCF told me “Pack your bags, the shelter is down the street.”  That’s when I became homeless.


Copyright Homeless Humans, March 27, 2019