Page 47 - LTHC Publics Catalog, Spring 2018 Update

THROUGH THE LENS (ENGL 419 Project)

One participant described how sleep deprivation was her main
challenge. Before entering LTHC, she had slept in her car every
night. Other issues stemmed from her primary struggle with sleep
deprivation. In terms of safety, even with the locks on the car, it
can be very unsafe to sleep in a car on the streets. Working and
money troubles both stem from sleep deprivation as well, if you
can not get enough sleep, how can you successfully function at a
job the next morning?

Another participant talked about their struggles with transporta-
tion. While several participants talked about this, she made it clear
why it was more relevant for her as she had a disability. Again,
we see the branch leading it back to the main reason why she was
struggling with transportation: a medical issue. However, with this
participant, we also see a struggle disappear for her that other par-
ticipants did struggle with, which is paying for the bus. Another
client discussed how some people simply can’t afford the monthly
bus fee. The previous participant didn’t have to live with that ob-
stacle as much because she received benefits as a disabled person.

When we asked ourselves, “why does this person struggle with
keeping a job?” we could trace it all the way back to the main
code ‘struggles’. Just from their stories and with the aid of photos,
we understood what caused them to be in the situation of home-
lessness or supportive housing. This code gives us insight to how
a problem has both pros and cons that we may be unaware of.
This is why we chose to focus on struggles because everyone goes
through them but we do not understand the full extent of the issue
unless you delve deeper.
Police

Police was brought up because the participants often have inter-
actions with law enforcement, whether these interactions were
directly related to the participants themselves or not. The police
seem to frequently question homeless people who sleep in local
parks. They are often asked to leave even if they are not being
disruptive. In other cases, the participants have actually been in trouble with the law before. One of the participants
describes how they were charged with assault and battery on a police officer and admits to doing it. They then go on
to describe how that influenced some factors in their life that led them to their current situation.
Health

Health issues were a recurring theme and a struggle faced by all participants. As stated by one participant, “I have,
you know, lots of medical problems. Lots. And because I’m in here I’m able to get the help that I need. Otherwise I
would still be out there and dying. I wouldn’t even be trying.” When living on the street people are not able to focus on
keeping themselves healthy and must instead focus on surviving from one day to the next. This can lead to additional
health problems as a result of homelessness. One participant spoke about the effects of sleeping in his car after being

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