Karen

Karen lives in a car with her dog in San Diego. She says the hardest thing about being homeless is the loneliness.

Karen says she feels invisible. At one time she had an important job and lots of social interaction, but now she says it’s rare to have a conversation with another person. Earlier, Karen was parked near a public park and was cleaning out her car. She was feeling invisible and hadn’t talked to anyone, then a dog came into the park and caught everyone’s attention making Karen feel even more invisible.

I know each Invisible People story is different and each story relates to people differently. Karen’s story messed me up because I remember like it was yesterday, when I was homeless, watching ‘normal’ people with their families play in a park. The feeling of depression was often overwhelming as I wondered if I’d ever have a normal life again. I am even getting emotional typing this.

Karen is happy she has a car and feels it will help her get a job. I’m happy there are places like Dreams for Change’s safe parking program so people living in their car have a safe place to park and help getting back in to housing!