Houston Chronicle by Sarah Smith Jan. 17, 2020
After homelessness in Houston: Those who spent time on the streets struggle to adjust to life indoors
Shari Wilson stared down the coffees stacked on the shelves in Randall’s and wondered how anyone could possibly deal with so many options.
There were plastic Folgers containers one on top of the other on one shelf (hazelnut, classic, “1/2 caff,†decaf, Colombian), blue Maxwell House below those (wake-up roast and morning boost) and, on the very top shelf, the McDonald’s blend that had somehow made its way into grocery stores. And she wasn’t even looking near the Starbucks bags.
“Oh wow. It’d just be easier to get the instant. Holy crap,†she muttered, one hand on her hip and the other on her chin.
This was Wilson’s third trip to the grocery store since getting into temporary supportive housing with Catholic Charities in December. Wilson, 58, had been on-and-off homeless for about four years — with short stays in friends’ apartments, in housing that didn’t work out and in jail after a DWI breaking up the time mostly spent in a tent. When she first confronted a coffeemaker in Catholic Charities’ kitchen, she realized she’d forgotten how to use it.
“It is so weird,†she said “You go to the grocery store and you’re like — you’re used to buying things that are sealed or just one of something you can eat right then. I have a refrigerator and I buy one thing at a time.â€
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