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A homelss man who had been living under a freeway overpass is questioned by police -- he was also asked to put all items from his pocket on the hood of the police car. This was part of the harrassment that officials used in hopes that homeless people…

Local residents, city officials and police became alrmed at the huge increase in tehhomelss population -- and they wanted to get them out of town. One way was to issue notices to all homeless people that they would be put in jail if they stayed.…

The homeless grew in numbers so much by the end of the 1980's that many missions overflowed and traditional hobo jungles were filled. Along the Sacramento river a small city of men, women and children in habited tents, campers or holes dug in the…

Some women and children are forced to ive I squalid shelters, such as the Bible Tabernacle Church, which had been closed by county health inspectors numerous times following outbreakks of disease. Women and children slept on and beneath pews, one…

People begin the nightly routine of waiting for a bed at a homeless shelter. Children come first -- something older homeless folks never had to contend with until recently. Sacramento, California 1990.

Frederick and Janice, a homelss couple from Northern Claifornia, had to leave a shelter in Oroville, California because they had used up their 30 day stay limit. They were hunting for a spot to sleep in the weeds near the railroad tracks when I met…

The wheels of freight trains are called 'giant salami slicers' by veteran hobos. Each year, the railroads report that more than 600 rail riders are killed, and many lose their lags to the whells of the trains. Jack Barrett lost his legs when he was…

Andre is one of the peoplein the 24-hour tellerlobby. He says that New York streets are dnagerous, but that he feels the city-run shelters are worse. New York City 1990.

Ten years later (see above photo) I went back to New York City and found that the majority were no longer older alcoholics sleeping on subway grates, but they spanned all ages and backgrounds, and that drug problems were common. But no one could…

When I first started documenting the homeless, I saw mainly the traditional older men with alcohol problems. It was difficult to find women, but it seemed by the middle of the decade, there were women and children everywhere. At that time, many of…