A Different Kind Of Homeless

This post first appeared as “Cardozo Law Student Chooses To Be Homeless” on The Shmooze blog at the Forward.

Some real homeless people

A Cardozo School of Law student who identifies himself only as “David,” has some serious first world problems. You know, like the kinds of problems that involve being able to afford a home with a warm bed to sleep in, good food to eat, nice clothes to wear, and somewhere safe and clean to bathe.

So burdened was David by these problems, that he decided to do away with his apartment and just live on the street (well, sort of—as you will soon read). In other words, in a time when so many people are having their home foreclosed upon them, David has deliberately chosen to be homeless.

But the real question is whether David’s brand of homelessness really counts as homelessness, as most people understand the term. In an interview with The Observer, the official newspaper of Yeshiva University’s Stern College for Women, David explained that he gave up his apartment and now spends $30-40 per month on a health club membership so he can shower and store his belongings in several lockers there. He also uses a locker at the law school. As a student, he has access to the couches in Cardozo’s climate controlled libraries, where he naps between classes and his internship during the day. He sleeps outside, bundled in layers of sweatshirts and blankets, for about six hours every night—after the libraries and health club are closed.

Click here to read more.

© 2011 Renee Ghert-Zand. All rights reserved.

Tags: Cardozo School of Law, homelessness, Yeshiva University