I have several pages on Squidoo and think it is an excellent way to learn about writing online. Kylyssa Shay was homeless 20 years ago. Her lens (post/article) on Squidoo includes the following:

“Just over twenty years ago, I experienced a year of homelessness. During that period of homelessness I was badly injured, both physically and emotionally. I have Asperger’s Syndrome, a contributing factor to my homeless situation and a barrier to escaping homelessness.”

“I’d like to share a little look into what it was like to live un-homed and unwanted. My point in this is to spread awareness of homelessness and to perhaps wake up a little empathy in people. My hope is that people will do something to prevent homelessness in their country, their community, and their family. I also want to show that homeless people are not all addicts nor are they people too lazy to work.”

“Due to unemployment and record foreclosures, more Americans are becoming homeless. These homeless people need our help and understanding.”

“It’s very hard for me to talk about my homeless experiences but I feel it is necessary. I find it much easier and less stressful to write about being homeless than to talk about it. This may in part be due to having PTSD but it is also an effect of Asperger’s Syndrome. Writing provides emotional distance and keeps me from getting too overwhelmed by the feelings associated with those times in my life.”

“In the blocks below you will find several how-to articles and an editorial I wrote about “The Homeless” from my own perspective. Understand that some of these articles were written from a place of pain and anger so they and their content are not pretty. Homelessness is not pretty, either but it has a face, and the faces of homeless people are just like yours and mine.”

Read more here.

Some related lenses in Squidoo about homelessness are:

Some Reasons People Become Homeless

Why Homeless People Don’t Use Shelters

Homelessness Myths, Misconceptions, and Stereotypes

What to Buy if You are Homeless

How You Can Help the Homeless Without Spending a Dime

Solutions to the Problem of Homelessness

Photo credit.