Houseless but not Homeless

     So our prompt was to retake one of our previous walks but look specifically for difference between homelessness and houselessness.

      While walking the streets we did see many houseless people and it was a bit weird in the sense because I didn't notice it before but they tended to be nicer than the people walking around on the streets. Some greeted us while others nodded and didn't say anything at all, but overall they were nicer than other people we ran across on the walk.

     The other people, those that are homeless in the sense that they are not connected to the community, were very rude to us and others around them. Some completely ignored us to the point of us having to walk way out of our way to get around them, some would yell back and forth to each other (and not nice things either), but in general they always had some place to be and not a lot of time to get there. They were zipping around going from point A to point B without really experiencing the in between.

     For the Honors program, we are required to do X amount of community service and my volunteer location is Good Shepard's Clothing Closet. While I am there I do see a lot of houseless people there but reflecting back on my experience, I don't think any of them are homeless because they have found a way to connect to the community. They are connected through GSCC even if they don't mean it and I am sure they are connected in more ways than just that. Whereas, the homeless people, who do have homes but are not involved in the community, lack in this sense of connectedness. They aren't truly experiencing everything Reno has to offer, or if they are they aren't really getting what they should from it.

Lesson learned: be connected to the community you are a part of.