Richard LeMieux

“I was no different from millions of others—from the millions of teenagers on the street to the millions of aging heroes stored…

— Richard LeMieux

“The homeless were my new family. They embraced me. They waved and smiled and treated me with dignity and respect. We may…

— Richard LeMieux

“In my seemingly endless months of sleeping on the streets, I knew of only one other person who had slept in a…

— Richard LeMieux

“And you know, unless people have been there—lost, alone, rejected, feeling worthless and unwanted—they just can’t know that numb feeling that drags…

— Richard LeMieux

“Many Wednesdays had come and gone in my sixty years. I don’t believe I particularly remembered any of them.”

— Richard LeMieux

“All of our wars were carried on the backs of the poor and the sons of the poor. The poor were the…

— Richard LeMieux

“As we left the death watch, it occurred to me that we were all homeless in some way. It seemed that we…

— Richard LeMieux

“The poor died first and last in World War I, World War II, and Korea, and fifty-eight thousand Americans died in Vietnam,…

— Richard LeMieux

“C had spread a roadmap before me with many paths to choose from. I could go on a bitter journey to a…

— Richard LeMieux

“The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans conservatively estimates that one out of every three homeless men is a veteran.”

— Richard LeMieux

“There were no parades or parties or dancing in the streets like after World War II. No breast-beating pride or songs of…

— Richard LeMieux

“Let us be dissatisfied as long as we have a wealth of creeds and poverty of deeds.”

— Richard LeMieux

“I had a reason and a passion to live. I had learned grace, found a new dignity—a real one, not based on…

— Richard LeMieux

“You know, the big thing that sets the homeless apart is that they usually only commit crimes out of desperation,” C continued.…

— Richard LeMieux

“I couldn’t explain to my son what was happening to me—he had no frame of reference for my depression. I hardly understood…

— Richard LeMieux

“According to the National Survey of Homeless Assistance Providers and Clients, veterans make up twenty-three percent of America’s homeless population.”

— Richard LeMieux

“Those without a roof over their heads could escape with Wolfe, Kafka, or Robert Louis Stevenson and have shelter from the heat…

— Richard LeMieux

“Gone on a Mexican cruise. C.” I chuckled, pretty sure the note meant C had gone ten rounds with Jose Cuervo and…

— Richard LeMieux

“I had no dreams now. There was no magical feeling. And if there were a wizard, I would wish him to appear…

— Richard LeMieux

“The homeless are human beings,” he said. “Okay, so they are people with problems—some greater than others. But there is no problem…

— Richard LeMieux

“The breakfast crowd at Sally’s was usually made up of homeless men.”

— Richard LeMieux