I, too, was homeless two separate times in my life. Last year (living in Portland no less) the RV I was living in for the summer was hit by a drunk driver with no insurance. Carted off with all my things and I was dumped in the streets with a concussion. The other time I was evicted by my bf when I told him the relationship wasn’t working out (prob should have found a place first) but neither of those situations were as described by Kevin Drum.

The great thing about PDX is that there isn’t a lot of shame where I live in the fact that I was homeless. I can talk about it without whispers unlike when I lived in San Diego where if you have experienced homelessness you are mentally ill for having done it and subsequently for talking about it. Most of the time here the person I’m talking to was homeless at one point or knows someone close who was. Homelessness is not a disposition, it is a situation. By saying that domestic violence is a pre-existing condition it also implies that it is a disposition or disease of the victim.

Great writing. Great art. I’d love to send some bucks your way and if I can in the future I will. Still fighting for survival myself, but I can tell your situation is short-lived, you’re far too talented and have a voice people need.