Homeless Origins

I spent most of my life in Austin, Texas. Austin. Homelessness is an issue that was always right in front of me. Almost every street corner has a homeless person on it and they’re such a common occurrence that some of them have even gathered a bit of fame. Possibly the most famous of the bunch was “Leslie” the infamous cross dresser who once even ran for mayor. I remember Leslie got in an accident and his status was unknown and rumors were flying everywhere. Leslie was a big deal in Austin. I say, “was” because rumor has it that he died due in the hospital due to his injuries.

During our stay in Austin my mother worked for non-profit organizations mostly involved in homeless outreach. Growing up in an environment surrounded by homeless people was very eye opening. A common misconception or rather, misunderstanding, about homeless people is that they are lazy or just can’t fin a job. While I don’t doubt that is a factor, I learned that addiction and mental disabilities helped land these people where they are today.

These experiences solidified “don’t judge a book by it’s cover.” I learned that everybody has their different stories and histories and it’s impossible to lump all homeless people into the same category. It really got me interested in the origin stories of different homeless people in America. When I moved back down to the valley I noticed more homeless people walking around. It got me thinking that I’d like to hear the stories of the homeless people around the Rio Grande Valley.