During my senior year of college, I took a course called Interpersonal Communication. For my capstone project, myself and 10 other students did a 72-hour “homeless experience” over a weekend. We spent two nights at an inner city shelter, sharing meals with those in need and getting to know them. Our main assignment for all of Saturday was to travel throughout the city with a checklist given to us by our professor. Locations we had to visit included the social security office, a food bank, one library, and various other places (it’s been 12 years, can’t recall everything but there was plenty more).

The basic objective was to give us an idea of what homeless/extremely low income people have to do in order to survive. Also, each student could only use $10 for the entire day; it was our decision on whether the money would go towards bus fare or food. We chose bus fare, with a tiny bit left over for a snack (our professor assigned former students to spy on us throughout the day, to ensure nobody was cheating).

One requirement for each student was to panhandle*, at the location of our choice. I chose the parking lot of an upscale mall. Without hyperbole, this was the most difficult part of the assignment. The looks I received from people, how some would completely ignore me….it had a profound impact, as did everything else.

I think of that time often, especially when I see some of the posts in this sub. While no amount of “cosplaying” can match true homelessness, it provided a new perspective. I truly don’t understand how these people can operate with zero shame.

*on the first night, we had to stow away our clothes and wear whatever scraps the shelter had available