"I'm not a street person, I'm just down on my luck."

The other day when I was in Bethlehem I had a very interesting experience. I was going to the public library when a woman stopped me outside and asked if I knew where the Moravian Church was. I said I didn't, but she gave me an address that I knew how to direct her too. Upon hearing that it was about 7 or 8 blocks away, she looked distraught, glanced at my car, and asked me for a ride to the church.
It was then that I realized that this woman was homeless and needed to get to the shelter that the church had provided. Although I was extremely wary, she seemed like a nice person. She explained that she had her identity stolen and, with these hard economic times, was unable to recover. She told me that she used to be a nurse in Kutztown, retired to Florida, then had to come back up once her money ran out. Even after her explanation, I still must have looked skeptical because she said, "I'm not a street person, I'm just down on my luck." For some crazy reason, I decided that it would be okay to drive her there - and it was - but it opened my eyes to something.
Today, homeless people are not necessarily "street people" or the "hobos" that we picture begging for change in cities. They are normal people who are down on their luck and are just looking for a warm place to stay. Not only that, but these homeless people have different reasons for their life on the street than the stereotype that we usually think of. They did not lose their job because of alcoholism or drug addictions; they come from respectable jobs that were cut when the economy crashed.
The reason that I am relaying this story on this blog is because I think it would make a great topic for the final project. We could interview local shelters, food banks, soup kitches, etc. as well as some of the people whose lives are being affected by the economy in Bethlehem. I think that this would be interesting because it takes a general topic - such as the economy or homelessness - and brings it on a local level.
I'll have to see what my group thinks....