Image of the Week: Meeting Practical Needs

by Shannon Moriarty · 2009-02-14 03:30:00 UTC
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If you've never been homeless, it's tough to describe how day-to-day, seemingly mundane routines can be enormously challenging. As the LA Times reported yesterday, one of the greatest ordeals for those living on the streets or in shelter is what to do with their personal belongings:

After a point, they can't carry it with them, but if they leave it on the street, it'll be lost or stolen. Even if, like Marage's family, they are staying at one of the area's missions, most facilities limit the belongings that can be brought in and offer no storage space.

As a common-sense yet critical service to the homeless in LA, one organization has filled a warehouse with trash cans ("bins") for homeless people to store their personal belongings while they are unhoused. Just last week, staffers reconfigured the space to squeeze in more bins to accommodate the rising demand.

If nothing else, such a services eases one of the many concerns homeless people have as they face the significant challenges of living without a roofPractical.

 

Shannon Moriarty has worked in various homeless shelters and service organizations around the country. She is a graduate student studying housing and urban policy at Tufts University.
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