Kan from Bloomington, Indiana/Boston, Massachusetts

Kan was unlike any person I've talked with up to this point. He's not technically homeless, but he's making his way around the United States as a "traveler." "I traveled around from '94 until '03 in the Marine Corps. I'm just so used to it. My [doctor] back in Boston says it's part of my PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). I can't sit still. I mean, I got a house back in Boston. I just don't want to be there... I just don't like being inside. I spent 22 months in Afghanistan. I was hunting Bin Laden's punk-ass. To me, [traveling] is fun. I got my dog on the road, you know? I actually like this. There's a lot of people that don't and they want to get off the streets. I like doing this. I meet new people everyday. I'm in a different city once a month. I see more of America than most people."


After Kan left the Marines, he said he tried to adjust to normal life. "I went home [to Boston], I got married, I had two kids. I stayed home for awhile, but my girl just told me she didn't like my attitude any more, that I should go find myself again. I've been on the road this time for nineteen. months, since August of '09." Kan says his wife is supportive of his endeavors and that she used to be a traveler as well. "We hopped freight trains together, back in '06, '07. She's used to it."


What sticks out the most to Kan in his travels is how frequently he gets arrested for petty charges. "I got arrested in New Orleans for impersonating a human being. Sh** you not. They live by Napoleonic law down there, which means the police, if they don't like you, they can come up [to you] and make up a charge. Especially three weeks before Mardi Gras and a week after – and then Mardi Gras is two weeks. That's like six weeks that they can make up charges on you. I had a friend get arrested for obstructing the flight path of a pigeon... I got arrested in [Bloomington] for sleeping in a parking lot. I still got the criminal trespass from court. They gave me time served, but I wasn't criminally trespassing. Trespassing is breaking into the abandoned building, not sleeping in their parking lot.... I get arrested for hitchhiking all the time. I just got kicked out of Kentucky. The state troopers told me they don't want to hear my name playing over the radio ever again in the state of Kentucky. Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Kentucky, sometimes in Indiana, sometimes in Illinois, [hitchhiking] all depends on the state trooper or the county or local cops.... Florida will arrest you on the violation of the vagrancy law. That's the only state I've ever been to that will arrest you for vagrancy. You need to have at least forty dollars on you [to not be arrested]. You see I carry the backpack? They'll weigh it or they'll look and see if it's bigger than what it's 'supposed' to be, and if it is, they'll arrest you for being a vagrant.... Usually they won't mess with me or arrest me now that I have a dog. They don't want to call animal control... it's too much paperwork to put in the pound and then they got to do my paperwork. A lot of them won't arrest me, but there's still dickheads that will. They forget that this country was founded on travelers."


The state that treats the homeless the best, Kan says, is Massachusetts. "They give you free health care. If you have a disability, they'll put you on disability real quick. They'll get you off the streets. They have what they call a Section 8 Lottery. All you have to do is put your name in the lottery and they'll give you free housing. Ten thousand people put their name in the lottery, and within seven months, five thousand of them will be off the streets. That's a Democrat state for you. As much as I don't like the Democrats, Massachusetts, man... they help you."


While Kan and I were talking outside the Shalom Community Center, a police car drove through the lot slowly, obviously checking out the crowd. The sight took me by surprise. I asked if the police were allowed to just make rounds through a privately-owned shelter during business hours. "They come through here all the time. They don't care. They can come and snatch people up." I ask if the shelters can do anything about that. Kan replied, "Nope. I don't think they have sanctuary law in this state. Massachusetts is a big Christian state, so if [the homeless] are on church property, it's sanctuary law. The only way the cops can get you is if the minister or priest says that they can come and get you. Without their permission, the cops can't come on the property."


As Kan and I finished our discussion, he expressed his thoughts about the current economic downturn and how it could relate back to homelessness. "I forget the exact amount, but I think it's like twenty-something percent of America is one paycheck away from being homeless. They say the recession is over? I don't see it. I see all these college kids all excited that they're going to get out of college with this bulls**t major. There's like twenty million other motherf***ers going for [the same job]. I met [a college kid] when I first started traveling. He said, 'I'm gonna travel for the summer. I just graduated. I'll have a job by the fall. I seen him nine months later, you know? [Just a] dirty traveler. I was like, 'What happened?' He said, 'No one would hire me. And I like this [traveling] life.' I said, 'Alright cool. Welcome to it.' This life... it's not for everybody, but it's for some people."

Keith F. from Shalom Community Center in Bloomington, Indiana

In the Eighties, Keith* (see below) became involved in illegal activities and was incarcerated for thirteen years. "I was running prostitution and selling drugs. Mothers would bring their daughters over, fifteen, sixteen-years-old. More or less, they would pawn them off for drugs. At the time – that's been many years ago – [my friends and I] thought it was real cool. I admit now that I was in the wrong. I'm not in denial and there's no reason to be. I feel disappointed in myself. At the time, I wasn't even thinking." While in jail, Keith's family was killed, though he did not elaborate on details. "That's very mentally disturbing. If I didn't have a place like the [Shalom Community Center], it could be catastrophic. There's [homeless] people that go to the extent of just giving up and committing suicide... You look at [the homeless] that try to do good. Some people have a criminal background, and if they didn't have a place to go get food, clothing, they would resort back to criminal activity."


While Keith was in prison, he used his time wisely. "I developed more mental skills, social skills. I got my bachelor's of science in General Studies with a minor in psychology and geography. I have never felt so good in my life as after I earned that degree. You look at things differently. It's brought me self-esteem, it's helped me grow. It's changed my life."


In jail, he suffered a potentially deadly infection called paronychia, a skin infection that occurs around the nails. "I lay there suffering for nearly thirty-six hours before the [guards] finally took me to the hospital. The pain was torturous, [physically and mentally]. By then, the infection had spread [from the nails] through me. One of the officers taunted me by saying, 'Listen to him crying for a Tylenol.' Yes, I was crying for a Tylenol. I felt lower than an animal and it got to me mentally. There was no reason for doing that. I wasn't there to be mistreated, but stuff like that goes on everyday. It's covered up by the system. My doctor was irate. He had called the jailhouse hours before, [but they never informed me]. Two years later, [my finger] still isn't the same. The nerve endings are shot."

Keith had been released fom jail about six days prior to our conversation. During this time, he has been homeless and has relied on shelters to get by. "I stay at a place called Martha's House. It's a place where people like me who've just gotten out of prison can go and stay for shelter. There's also the Community Kitchen next door where you can go and eat. Shalom Community Center provides breakfast and lunch, and Martha's House provides dinner. There's also a place called Volunteers in Medicine, which is state-funded for the homeless. It's where people like me who take several medications [can get their prescriptions refilled]. Wonderful! Another place is Work One. That's where you go sign up and have people who assist you with resumes, and with a job. There's vocational rehab there, as well. The more you try to better yourself, the better it is in the long run, and it keeps your mind busy."


The generosity of the Shalom Community Center specifically has touched him. "It's a wonder that we've got a place that's nice like this. It helps provide for people that don't have anything. Society looks down on people they consider lower-class, but the thing of it is, not everything is perfect. People try to do the best they can with what they've got. Some people that's never had much, they understand that. They just go with the flow. There's people that get in situations where they have to rely on places like the Shalom Center just for help and assistance. The clothes I'm wearing now we're donated and thank God for something like that. I just picked up a pair of shoes and I found a belt. I had a wonderful breakfast. Wonderful! That helps people build their self-esteem and it gives them some dignity. Psychologically, [being out on the streets] can be very mentally damaging. It alters your mind and you get desperate. It's by the grace of God that I came down here."


*Unfortunately, I was not able to photograph Keith. Here's somewhat of a visualization: He was in his fifties, heavyset, and about 5'8" or 5'9". His hair was completely white and he was balding on the top. He wore a ball-cap and carried a briefcase and backpack with him. I know this description does not replace a photo by any means, but it's what I can do for now!