"No more talking about the homeless"

[Everyroadleadshome]

For some reason I still haven't hooked up my washer and dryer in my house yet, part laziness, part too many other projects going on, and part I like the laundromat because I can do 5 loads at once and i'm done doing laundry for almost a month.

Anyways, there are a group of homeless that hang out in the laundromat during the day to get out of the cold Maine weather. At night they find shelter at a few of the local churches that open their doors when it drops below freezing. Yesterday there were only two of them there, a couple in their mid 50's and their pug Wilber. We struck up a conversation, and as I always do I go across the street and eat breakfast while I wait for the wash cycle to finish. This thread inspired me to invite them and I offered to pay, and they very appreciatively accepted. So we get to talking and being the small world that it is, they are from the same town in Mass I moved out of when I came to Maine. They both lost their jobs there around the same time.....the local Ford dealer didn't get it's license renewed for not being able to sell the volume of vehicles the newer and larger dealerships were doing. She lost her job as a seamstress at a local tailor due to the declining demand. They moved to Maine to live with her cousin and try and get a fresh start. A year later, her cousin passed unexpectedly and the house was upside down on the mortgage and eventually foreclosed on. They've been homeless for five years now and are choosing or as he had said semi choosing to remain that way. After the initial transition/shock of becoming homeless they both seem to prefer it. They have their routines down on where they can sleep, eat, and shower and where on the different days it's offered at different places in the community and they don't miss being part of the rat race where you're stressed out, barely making ends meet in that never ending cycle of struggling to survive. He said it's the first time in his life where his time is his own and he's not worried about a stack of overdue bills on the kitchen table. They sort of just pretend they are nomads living on foot the way people did 1000's of years ago. It was a very interesting conversation. So I mentioned this website and lifestyle to them and explained the "van life" culture/attitude as best I could. She gets $650 a month SSI and he works temp construction jobs a few times a month when they're available. So I could definitely see the wheels turning in their minds on possibly trying to save up for an older RV or van and giving it a try.

It will be interesting to see if they are still thinking about this in a few weeks or months when/if I cross their paths again.