I live in Seattle, which is currently in the throes of a homelessness crisis and this really hit home. The thing that gets me about the “get a job” mentality is that it assumes begging is a conscious choice — that everyone holding a sign wouldn’t want a job if they could get it.

You never know what that person holding a sign has been through. They could have been to a job interview that morning or spent all day applying on a public computer at the library. Being told to “get a job” when you’re trying desperately to do just that is devastating and it doesn’t help at all.

We have a newspaper called Real Change that carries the inspiring stories of people on the streets. The most recent issue featured the story of a man struggling to attend college while homeless. He has had to endure all sorts of hardships, including having his computer stolen. There are many more like him fighting against impossible odds. It’s hard to find work even at McDonald’s if you don’t have clean clothes, haven’t bathed in days and bear other outward signs of poverty, like a sunburned face.

Real Change is great because it gives vendors a sense of dignity. They don’t have to beg and they can be a part of a community. Almost every major city has its own homeless newspaper. I urge everyone to support theirs. Thanks.