Homeless in NYC

Homeless in New York City: fashionistas from the Rag & Bone collection (how ironic is that?) pose for photos during NY Fashion Week, oblivious to the homeless man seated next to them. Explanations for homelessness often include mental illness & addiction but that doesn’t cut it for the huge number of homeless women, children, & the elderly. Puny stinking little Social Security checks don’t come close to providing food, rent, & a human life, especially in the absence of senior & affordable housing. Mental illness is just as likely the result & not the cause of rough living. Widespread homelessness is not a new phenomenon in NYC; & the apparent callousness of these models may be more a psychological coping defense than indifference to human suffering. Indifference to human suffering is a Wall Street/Upper East Side thing. (Photo by Lucas Jackson/Reuters)