America, you don't know who your homeless people are.

I'm a Forest Service camp host. Homeless people are common guests there. They greatly differ from the popular image of the homeless as destitute, dirty, criminal, and living is appalling hovels. Most of them are clean and well-behaved. They just don't have a place to live. Some are on Social Security, some on pensions, and some work.

The image of the homeless American presented in this article is so striking that most of us miss how common homelessness is among people like you and me.