Dave, aged 31

Another story from my project on homelessness, The Gentlemen of Baltimore.

Dave said he had been homeless on and off for seven years. “I used to do a lot of hard drugs. A lot. Then I got clean, but couldn’t go anywhere, couldn’t get off the street.” He described a vicious circle of social pressures and financial limitations, but said he was still clean after three years. “I don’t even drink now. I go to AA and NA. The worst addiction I have now is food and cigarettes.” He was well spoken and appeared quite sincere. “I thought this administration would end homelessness not hide it. I didn’t think poverty was a crime. This is my circumstance not my conclusion.”