Panhandling in Chicago

by Mark Horvath · 2010-01-20 10:00:00 UTC
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There was so much noise on Chicago's Michigan Avenue Bridge that I didn't notice Reggie was asleep. I felt bad. I should have remembered when I was homeless. Sleep came when I felt safe, or when I was so exhausted I collapsed. Rarely did sleep happen at night. Rarely did I rest when I was alone and vulnerable.

The night before I met him, Reggie slept on a friend's couch. More and more people, including families, are couch surfing as an alternative to being on the streets. They're invisible when it comes to homeless counts -- just like the growing number of people in weekly-rate hotels our government does not count as homeless. Reggie is lucky his friend is only charging $5 a night. As the economy gets worse I'm hearing more stories of people taking advantage of even their own relatives.

Reggie from InvisiblePeople.tv on Vimeo.

Mark Horvath is an activist for the homeless. He vlogs at invisiblepeople.tv and blogs at hardlynormal.com. He was formerly homeless in Hollywood.
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