Waking up

• A homeless person's routine is nothing like that of most people. When he wakes up, there's no need to get dressed. Chances are he slept wearing the only clothes he owns. To get breakfast, some wake up at around the same time the missions open their doors to provide food. Others run to the local temporary employment office to stand in line. They know that there will be more homeless waiting in line long before the office opens its doors. The jobs come on a "first come, first served" basis. Therefore, arriving at least two hours before the doors open is vital. However, any "experienced" homeless person knows that the people in charge have their favorites. In these cases, the spot in line doesn't really matter.
  
  

Earning Money

• At the temporary employment office, homeless are required to fill out forms indicating their previous experiences. If the office finds an employer requiring those skills, the homeless may be given the job. The pay is usually $6.55 per hour. Sometimes the job requires specific paraphernalia, which, of course, the homeless does not own. In this case, she must rent it out from the employment office for a "modest" fee. The ride to the job is not free. She must also pay a price to arrive to her job. All this money is coming out from the paycheck she still hasn't received. Once she receives her check, which most of the time does not exceed $50 for 9 hours of back-breaking labor, she must go to the bank and cash it. Of course, there is also a fee for doing that. By this time, the homeless person is exhausted and filthy from the sweat transpired during a hard day's work. But she won't be getting home to a long, hot shower.
  
  

Searching for Food

• Another daily struggle of the homeless person is his search for food. Eating isn't as easy as standing in line in charity missions. Lines are very long, and even if he is starving, he must wait his turn. Also, food is given in exchange for listening to a sermon given by the preacher of the church providing the edibles. Most of the time, the church is not of the same religion as that of the person in need. Nonetheless, he must listen if he wants to eat. The look of the food isn't good. Instead of human food, it looks as if it had been taken out of a can that reads "dog chow." Some foods consist of little more than tomato sauce, sliced hotdogs, rice and bread. But now at least, he has a semi-full stomach.
  
  

Looking for a Place to Sleep

• Some churches provide the homeless with beds to sleep on at night. However, the homeless person must stand in line early to get a bed, sometimes as early as 5:00 p.m. Just as it occurs with the food, the person must also listen to some kind of religious sermon before she is given a bed. If she is lucky enough, she will have a mattress on which to spend the night. However, all of her clothes are removed and given to the person in charge of the service for that day. According to some churches, the removal of clothes is done to prevent murders. By their logic, a person will have to think twice about running away after a murder if she has to run outside in her underwear.
  
  In the morning, she must stand in line again to receive her clothes. Even though she is allowed to shower in the mission, she is not allowed to wash her clothes. So regardless of how clean her body is, she will still smell bad because her garments have not been washed in a long time.
  
  After she has showered and received her clothes, the day starts all over again. A day in which standing in line will take precedence over anything to meet life's most basic necessities.