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In Life Out Here, an article for the Harvard Crimson, Samuel F. Wohns spends some time talking to two homeless men, Justin and Ralph, about their experiences living on the street - "spanging" (begging for spare change), making shelters out of tarps, trying to hold on to their personal possessions, and other day-to-day challenges.

It's a life with very few healthy escapes - but Justin has one that doesn't involve drugs or alcohol:

With his legs extended and his back against the wall, Justin reads instruction books on different systems for hours at a time. In recent weeks he has been developing a Generic Universal Role Playing System (GURPS) campaign of “high fantasy with steam punk and sonic elements, as well as traditional magic and swords and sorcery.”

...

Living on the street, he does not have as much freedom as he used to, he says. But in GURPS he calls all the shot and makes all the rules; it’s a drug-free escape from a life where he can’t even choose his own bedtime to a world where he’s in charge of everything.

Read the full article here. (Due to mature themes and coarse language, reader discretion is advised.)

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