Danny slept outside the door of Nightwatch, while getting treatment for brain cancer.

This week, I met Miles. He spends three days a week on dialysis. He sleeps in a tent.

Dirk had all the usual aches and pains of a 73-year-old. These were amplified by having to sleep on a mat in a room with a bunch of other guys.

The few times I’ve been laid low by surgery or illness – I’ve been in my own bed, with a loving spouse bringing me ice chips. Not laying out on cardboard in a downtown doorway, or holed up in a tent with big trucks rumbling by all day.

Homelessness is a public health issue.