How to Cure Homelessness: New Hats?
A friend writes: What's the difference between a grad student and a homeless person? Well, according to the instructions given to paid decoys in the city's "Shadow Count" homeless survey, it's mostly about the choice of headgear. As Ben McGrath writes in this week's New Yorker:
Prospective decoys Hopper wants a hundred and fifty will be handed an instruction card shortly before heading out to assigned locations, at midnight, for three hours of role-playing. The card begins, Your job is to pass for a homeless person on the street tonight. But you will be unusually stable, well-behaved, dressed for the weather, and approachable. As props, Hopper recommends bringing along only a blanket and a crummy hat.
McGrath also cites anecdotal evidence that it's not all about the hat. We aren't sociologists, but we think homelessness probably has something to do with being, you know, without a home.
