Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be homeless? I have. I remember many instances in my life where I have been the passerby to these poor people who have nothing and find home in back alleys and on hidden sidewalks. On my mission in Singapore and Malaysia there were many homeless people, closer to home I've observed them in Salt Lake City, most memorably in San Antonio, and most recently I saw thousands in India. So, while washing my hair in the shower yesterday morning it dawned on me that I should try being homeless. Last night, I put on a pair of old sweat pants, an over-sized white T, an old hoodie, and a beanie and set out for the city with nothing but my backpack and a blanket. To be honest, I was scared. I was 50 percent excited for this wild adventure and 50 percent scared out of my brains. I had told a few people my idea to be homeless for the night and everyone started to tell me to be careful because homeless people can be quite territorial. They spared no tales of homeless people getting raped, stabbed, and killed. Thus, as I walked toward downtown Provo, I felt a fair amount of fear.
One of the emotions I was surprised to feel was loneliness. I was completely on my own and had no where to stay. I looked like a bum and people were avoiding me. Late night couples would walk to the other side of the street, a mother called her children out of the road and into the front lawn as I passed, and the drivers of cars I passed avoided eye contact. I was a social outcast.
Trying to find a place to sleep was a real challenge. I thought a dark park somewhere would be the best idea, maybe an abandoned slide or something, but the parks I walked through were way too dark and sketchy. I thought for sure someone was going to come out from a dark corner and stab me. It's funny because I was still in "Happy Town' Provo but I definitely felt unsafe. I couldn't help but think of Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde when Mr. Einfeldt is recounting his tale of the night he met Mr. Hyde. He says, "at last I got into that state of mind when a man listens and listens and begins to long for the sight of a policeman." I absolutely knew what he meant but I also didn't want to run into a policeman for fear he would send me home and I would be without a creative experience.
The people surrounding the bar and the area close by on the west side of University Avenue and Center Street were to rough and scary, so I continued on. Finally, I found the back alley behind Gloria's Little Italy and Einstein's Bagels. It had a dark, secluded corner where I could sleep without the street lights interfering my sleep but was close enough to the road and the social event set up by the Courthouse that I felt it would be safe.
Sleeping on cement was not easy. It was pretty warm out so I thought I'd sleep without a blanket and did so for the first three or four hours. However, I was afraid of my backpack and blanket getting stolen so I kept one arm in the straps of my backpack at all times. I also kept my hand on my iPhone the whole night for fear it would fall out and a passerby would take it. Not long after trying to fall asleep my elbows started hurting, I flipped over to my side and my hip started hurting, I put my head on my backpack and my neck started hurting. Due to the pain and afraid someone was walking toward me, I woke up about every half an hour. There was one scream that woke me up and some squealing tires
but other than that silence surrounded me.
At around 3:45 am I broke out my blanket and wrapped up. The night got infinitely better after that point and I slept fairly soundly until 7:00 am when the sun started to come up. I woke up, walked around to get a better idea of where I slept, now that I could see it, and snapped the photos I posted.
The walk home was much like the walk there. Early morning runners all avoided me and people acted so strangely around me. I understand the uneasy feelings when one sees a homeless person but it kind of hurt to know that no one trusts you or wants to be around you. The experience was very eye opening and I returned home a somber, humble man. I can now empathize with the homeless and can honestly say I have shared their fate for a night.
