Little pink houses

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After reading a different discussion I got to thinking about homelessness in America. There is a big problem in America with homelessness. These are people who are people. But people who are not homeless for the most part do not see this invisible sector of our country. Most of the times when you speak of homelessness everyone jumps on the "lazy" bandwagon. And that infuriates me because not all homeless people are lazy. If it were not for my father and my uncle I may have had the same views. My uncle was a very intelligent man who traveled around the US, and most people saw him as a vagrant. But he got to know America's homeless people very well and became friends with them. My father, had it not been for my mother and his family, may have also been homeless when he came back from the war. One in four of our homeless are US vietnam veterans. And also veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan are becoming homeless. This is very disturbing because how is that a person can go off to war and fight for our freedoms and rights and come back only to beg on the street while most people turn a blind eye because they think that the beggar is lazy. That beggar was not lazy when they stood up for our rights and freedoms while we stayed home. And even though my uncle chose to live his life as he did in a sense he was forced to live his life they way he did. And his family was always there for him. His life ended violently and too early. ANd the person who took his life almost got away with it because my uncle was viewed as a "vagrant." But maybe if people would dive down deeper and accept the realities of life we can make a difference. So when I see a homeless person I think of my uncle, my father, my friends, and basically every person in the world. Because they are people who have families. And I pray even for those who abuse other people's sense of humanity. So what are your experiences with the homeless?