U.S. Capitol Homeless

Your street shots are great..it captures what many choose to ignore and tirn a blind eye too. Your shots leaves many questions; are those people living this way by choice?

Living on the streets by choice? Yes and no. Most all are mentally ill. There are shelters in most towns but most of these folks would rather be on their own. In that sense, it's a choice. OTOH, they are usually too mentally ill to hold a job and have a "regular" home, and their mental illness may have compromised their ties with their families. Often their families are too poor to feed and care for them too. In a way, they are making the choice, but their choices are rather limited. (I once worked as a therapist for the outpatient mental health service at my local Veterans Hospital, and also a state mental health hospital.)


Kent in SD