21 Homeless People Confess The Hardest Things They Have To Go Through

17.

Rape. It happens and being a homeless individual (yes, it's usually women but I'm not discounting men) means that you are very vulnerable and cops generally just turn a blind eye.

18.

I was once caught out in some terrible winter weather and thought I was dying of hypothermia. You don't know what cold is until your lips go blue and there's a noticeable delay in thinking ‘move your arm' and your arm actually moving. I'm currently in North Dakota, and no way am I going through that shit again, so I'm trying to move to the South.

19.

A little while ago I was mentally ill in a bout of substance abuse and I ended up on the streets of Brooklyn. The scariest thing to me was how quickly I lost hope and how quickly I became invisible. Suddenly I could easily see how a perfectly normal person could make one wrong move in life and end up homeless for years if not decades. Luckily for me I caught a break, ended up in a psych ward after a short time homeless and had a few contacts to get me home to New England.

20.

I used to sell “services” to random guys which helped me get out of being homeless after a few months. I'm not gay but I was desperate to get out of my predicament and did what I had too. I'm a pretty feminine looking man when I had long hair and that attracted a lot of old men, lonely men, just randoms. Never really had problems with other homeless people because I stayed in a local city shelter at night and had to leave during day time. Hanging around convenient stores and parking lots where they have game rooms (slot machine rooms) is where I got most of my clients. Most of them were chill. Get what they want and leave.

21.

As a girl, the constant sexual harassment and rape threats. (I was always in the hood when I was homeless.) Guys blocking your way to leave with their trucks to ask you to suck their dick for $15 and if you say no they drive in front of you even more if you try to leave. Just knock his side mirror off and run.

Written by Alex Cogen

Alex is a New Yorker currently living in Austin. She loves cats, grass, and latex but unfortunately is allergic to all 3. She makes mom and dad jokes more than she cares to admit (jk she'll admit it loud and proud). She isn't as funny as she thinks she is. She is the founder of thelazygurl.com.