Stephanie just woke up. She lives in Governor Abbott’s state-run homeless camp in Austin, Texas. Jennifer was on her way to the porta-potty when her friends suggested that I talk to her. I was kind of surprised she agreed. It’s rare people want to speak to a camera first thing after getting out of bed. Stephanie says homelessness is hard being judged and pointed at looked down by people who don’t understand the situation. Most people believe people are homeless because they don’t want to work or do anything for themselves. Stephanie continues there are people in the camp who had homes and have jobs but lost everything do to a crisis or an illness. In Stephanie’s situation, it’s both crisis and illness.
