One night ago I was sleeping in an empty parking lot, on a cardboard box, and hoping the rain would hold off a bit longer. That is if you consider drifting of the mind with one-eye open to be sleeping.

As a well paid corporate employee with a nice home, I was taking in the tourist’s view of homeless life: 24 hours Homeless Immersion in conjunction with Blog Action Day. Two other 'volunteers' joined me on this adventure, one male and one female. Together with our male guide, our ages spanned four generations.  Interestingly, the men were able to blend in, but it was clear that as females, we did not. Women on the street are tough, weather-worn, and universally lacking salon-styled hair. In several locations I noticed few or no women although reports indicate they represent up to 40% of the homeless population. Where do the women go? Perhaps a female ‘guide’, instead of the unflappable Alan Graham of Mobile Loaves and Fishes, would have had provided with greater insight into this subculture.

My method was to allow members of the community to approach me and share whatever they desired. I allowed them to talk until they seemed to be finished before asking questions. This was interesting as it allowed me to observe them and the content they chose to share while I considered their motives and, in some cases, their sanity. Interestingly, not one chose to tell me about how they came to be homeless. Instead, they talked about local politics, day to day life, dreams they hope to achieve in the future, and advice on how to improve my efforts to raise awareness. When they assumed I was with a church group, they talked about religion.

There was one tense moment where bullying, common to many groups, was attempted to communicate authority – to me and, probably more importantly, to onlookers. Removed from the playgrounds of our youth, it is easy to forget how one’s status is quickly determined within a group by indicators that you or I, accustomed to the power granted by job titles and scholarly degrees, rarely note on a conscious level.

The chronically homeless have lives fraught with sleep deprivation, hunger, and untreated illness. On a daily basis they must make choices that balance the need for sleep, shelter, health and food with the higher layers of Maslow’s needs: freedom, privacy, self esteem. Without Blackberries, soccer games for the kids, and high-stress career paths, there is a LOT of time to fill each day. Many seemed to be avid readers with a scope and depth far beyond that of an average US college grad.

There are several ideals by which I operate, and two of these were reinforced throughout this experience.

1) Simplify Life. To improve quality of life for ourselves and others in our communities, we should seek to live simply by supporting local businesses and service providers, preserving our environment, eating healthy, being fit, and considering the long-term implications of our actions. Take only what you need and leave the area in better condition than how you found it.

2) Realizing Effective Solutions is NOT Simple. Throwing resources at a broken system will not fix it. Process is key and you won’t find the right process without a systemic review of the problem. Study root cause, map the system, work cross-functionally, identify the behaviors you want to deliver and metrics reflective of the behaviors to be your measures of success. This is a lot of work and is not easy.

I will be thinking about these individuals for days and possibly months to come, particularly as the members of Net Impact Austin work to develop a process for identifying and establishing micro-enterprise employment opportunities for this community. It is also interesting to consider the significant overlap between the rise of homelessness, poverty, and hunger in conjunction with the rise of human trafficking and slave labor as highlighted last week in the Austin release of the documentary Call + Response.

Those that have focused their lives on supporting this troubled community have my admiration as do several of the individuals who shared their time and thoughts with me during this immersion experience. Thank you for your dedication and tolerance.