I am not a journalist. I have no college degree in journalism, social services or any other field. I am a formerly homeless person with a real/authentic homeless  experience. I also have the real experience of somehow getting off the streets and slowly finding my way to what society calls 'home'.  Here is a beginning to my story: When I turned 18, my family disowned me because I smoked pot. I came (to my father's)home from work and found the locks had been changed and noone would answer the door. All the windows and doors were tightly locked. The message was clear. I stayed with friends for about 9 months, and applied for a community college in Eugene OR. When I was accepted, I sold my ca

If you go to Sacramento’s Central Library, you’ll see that the I Street sidewalk looks empty. That’s because all the benches are gone. A library official said the benches were removed in part because they were obstructing the area for disabled patrons. But an advocate for the city’s homeless population disagrees, and thinks the benches were removed because homeless people used them for resting. All the benches -- there were more than 15 -- were taken away from the library’s sidewalk, according to Don Tucker, director of facilities for the Sacramento Public Library. The city’s Parks and Recreation Department will refinish the old benches and place them in various locations in Sacramento,