Seriously. I work in a warehouse and often have to deal with printer ink, so I don't wear nice clothes. I wear loose t-shirts with ink stains and don't retire ripped jeans until they tear in an impractical place. That's gotten me mistaken for a homeless person on several occasions.
A woman gave me a Tim Hortons card one time while I was waiting to get into a (nonfancy) restaurant and I was touched but couldn't figure out why. Until I realized that tears in my clothes + grocery bag instead of a purse + wasn't wearing makeup (because I never do) = had her likely thinking I was homeless and just trying to warm up in the restaurant's anteroom. She didn't have cash on hand, so gave me what she could. That was really nice of her.
On another occasion, a homeless man approached me while I was waiting to cross the street to tell me he could "take [me] some place nice". Broad daylight.
I was walking home from work one day, also in broad daylight, stopped to pick up a feather for my hat, and a car with several young men stopped next to me on the busy street to ask if they could give me a ride somewhere.
Yeah, I think it's pretty obvious why you don't see many homeless women. They're either trafficked or they're hiding from the men who would traffic them--from homeless older men to young men who can afford a car in one of the most expensive cities in the country.
tangentwithtanner
stormborns
