Growing up, Liam Foley (left) was in charge of dishes and never cooked. He was still able to help chop the onions, though, at a burrito-making project for the poor in San Francisco. Alan Greenblatt/NPR hide caption
homeless people homeless people
Elizabeth Hadley and Lisa Barbin light candles at the 28th annual Interfaith Homeless Memorial Service to remember homeless people who died in Boston in 2017. Robin Lubbock/WBUR hide caption
City workers wash down streets and sidewalks Monday in an effort to control a hepatitis A outbreak in San Diego. Susan Murphy/KPBS hide caption
Vigil attendees march down 14th Street NW in Washington, D.C., carrying a casket memorializing the homeless who died this year Claire Harbage/NPR hide caption
People in Denver line the sidewalks near the Denver Rescue Mission in October. Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post via Getty Images hide caption
Sylvia Welker feeds the pigeons on Skid Row in Los Angeles. There are currently 47,000 homeless people in and around Los Angeles. Gloria Hillard for NPR hide caption
Los Angeles resident Elvis Summers poses with his tiny house on wheels he built. Summers never thought more than 5.6 million people would watch a YouTube video of him constructing the 8-foot-long house, which is small enough to fit in a parking space. Damian Dovarganes/AP hide caption
The point-in-time count for the homeless population often misses those who crash on friends' couches or stay in cheap motels due to a lack of shelters. Dale Dean, from Cheyenne, Wyo., is one of them. Miles Bryan/Wyoming Public Radio hide caption
In Rural America, Homeless Population May Be Bigger Than You Think
Wyoming Public Radio
In Rural America, Homeless Population May Be Bigger Than You Think
From Dust Bowl refugees to post World War II travelers, people have long been drawn to Route 66 to make a change. That same story of transformation is still being told in the old 66 Motel. Laurel Morales/KJZZ hide caption