Mala-Dee

My original comment was quickly removed and this might follow too but here we go:

You will never understand and capture what homelessness is unless you are homeless yourself. Not for 4 months, not "pretend" but without a safety net, without any contact with family and friends, without knowing where your next meal is coming from or if there will be a tomorrow for you. You can't pause your life and try to understand something so out of your reach because you have never experienced the raw fear of not having a safe place to even sit down. Turning a major problem into a curiosity you can publish is at best selfish. How self-absorbed are you really? Why not do a Kickstarter to help these people instead of funding your cross-country vacation?

Without understanding,  there is no story. Besides,  we all know the stories. The subject has been abused and exploited for years because it looks good on a resume. This is the equivalent of going around a church with the collection plate then stepping out to chat with the poor, toss them a coin from the collection and write about in the local paper: "Bob just told me a funny story. You know Bob, the beggar sitting by the third column on the right at the square, the skinny one with the red rags..  So anyway.. He got a new scar fighting with the butcher's dog! Imagine that! Same old Bob, wrestling scraps from dogs. Hilarious!" Enjoying your story? Lack of understanding only leads to ignorance.

The homeless are not a story for your or anyone's entertainment. Benefiting from someone's misery to promote oneself is not sincere or respectful or fair. OP used someone else's money to benefit themselves and brag about it on social media.

Your history is very relevant. You flip flop around a subject,  switching sides trying to see which one will get you a bigger rise. You have derailed many posts with your generic ramblings, most ending up locked. Subject doesn't matter to you,  can be homeless, can be biscuits. You don't have arguments,  you have bait. You are a troll and I have answered accordingly. You will have to feel special somewhere else.

Let's remove the context and see what your own story tells us:

"In Portland, I talked with a man whose daughter had died from a medication mixup. He didn't care about moving on or continuing forward in any way. His livelihood had been reduced to only a desire to exist and endure. He was at a time in his life when happiness seemed to be distant in the rearview and hope had little ground to stand on. "

A grieving father in emotional distress. Is he homeless? Who knows. Did you get the story while sipping tea on his front porch? Maybe. Millions of people have sad stories. You are not showing what it is to be homeless but what it is to grieve. You already missed the point. What you saw in this man has nothing to do with homelessness. A tragedy may have lead him to the street but what it is to be on the street? Another heartbreaking story to join the hefty lineup of homeless "reality" shows and "a week under a bridge" books. Did you help anyone? Did you put a roof over someone's head? Did you assist someone to find therapy or medical help? Did you lead someone sick to a shelter? Did you contact Salvation Army and St. Vincent's in the areas you are in and volunteer to help with homeless care? Did you assist the caregivers of shelters give a shower to a homeless that has not seen running water in years and behaves like a feral cat when he feels the water on his skin? Did you serve the homeless who's been on the street for so long they have forgotten how to hold a fork? Did you help the shelters clean up rat and flea infested encampments and relocate homeless to shelters? No, you did not. You were there sponsored by others, promoting your own future, treating the homeless like a curiosity and going back to your cozy, clean safety to write about it.