So a man walks down the street...

at one a.m. and a little finnish girl pops around the corner to ask him about his housing situation. It went something like this-- "hey there sailor, you have a place to spend the night or do you need me to find one for you?"

Ok, so maybe things didn't go quite like that tonight, but, strangely enough, I did ask quite a few men tonight about where they would be spending the night. I was not, however, wearing fishnet stockings and my winter hat can in on way be considered even remotely sexy. Rather than propositioning people, I was asking them where they were spending the night to find out whether or not they were homeless, as part of the NYC HOPE count on homelessness. Since I know nothing about homelessness in New York, I thought that this might be a good time to learn a bit about it. Funny enough, i ended up in the group with the city commissioner and the media, so I wandered around midtown with them, asking people if they were homeless with a video camera peering over my shoulder. Probably not the most tactful thing ever done. But other than that, I had a really great time talking to people and offering services (homeless ones) to those people who really did need it. And it was fun to talk to the commissioner about homelessness issues and find out more (and possibly network...?) Standing out in the cold, talking to people about homelessness, made me so grateful for my little place in Brooklyn and my warm soft comfy bed waiting for me. I am such a lucky girl, and there are so many people who are not nearly as fortunate. It is good to remember that and know that there are ways to help.