Greetings, my name is Rick, a homeless advocate specializing in educating the public and policy-makers concerning the causes of homelessness and ways to address it in Salt Lake City. I have spent nearly year doing "man-on-the-street" interviews with the homeless and have gained a unique (albeit painful) perspective into the underbelly of society at the lowest levels which, as a result, has given me a drive and a purpose to help effect change at the local and state levels. No one should be relegated to this lifestyle whether imposed by life circumstances, poor choices, or bad luck--it's not living, it's merely surviving at the most basic, primitive levels. Respectfully, this is "Third-World" living in a "First-World", Top-Tier State. My own son was homeless in Oregon for 3 years for the same reasons that put most people on the streets. I know others whose family members are currently living in the shadows. So many lives are affected by this travesty of unrealized dreams and wasted potential. Men are that they might have joy, not perpetual pain, suffering & rejection.
