The day in the life of a homeless person in Boston

BOSTON — There are approximately 7,500 homeless men, women and children in Boston, according to the Boston Public Health Commission.

From the chilly winters to the hot summers, area shelters are able to house more homeless people than the average city Boston's size. But there are still many hours of the day that have to be filled.

FOX25's Chief Photographer Joe Martin spent the day with some homeless people in Boston to get their perspective on the situation.

"Christmas Eve I had someone slam a bag of pennies in my face and said Merry Christmas go f*** yourself," one told us.

There can be a lot of judgment toward homeless people. One man said that he doesn't where he's ended up and it's not easy.

"If you haven't been homeless I would say give it like one night on the street or at the shelter and see what I have to go through," he told FOX25.

What inspired Martin to do this story, in his own words:

"I stumbled across Anthony while doing a different story on a photographer who took pictures of the homeless back in March. What stood out to me, was how nice he was. He seemed normal, smart, and was very bright for having no place to call home. I asked him if he would allow me to follow him for a day showing what it's like to be on the streets homeless in Boston. He agreed. During my time following him it was shocking to see just how many people don't even notice the homeless exist. They walk by like they aren't even people.  The hope of this story is to bring more awareness to our views that just because they're homeless it doesn't mean they aren't people too. They all had a life once," he said.

Cox Media Group