HOME-LESS: Voices of Survival in a World That Forgot Us

HOME-LESS: Voices of Survival in a World That Forgot Us is a raw, unflinching novel based on multiple true accounts, plunging into the hidden world of those surviving on the razor's edge of a rapidly gentrifying American city. Dee, the narrator—a former programmer and activist haunted by trauma and a devastating robbery in Florida—returns to Charlotte, North Carolina, only to find himself a ghost in the shiny, cold city. His only sanctuary becomes a sprawling, abandoned warehouse and the shadows under the city's concrete bridges, where he reluctantly begins to stitch together a new, fragile life. Survival is a daily negotiation, and Dee soon gathers a crew of marginalized souls, bound by shared necessity and unspoken rules. This is more than a story of shelter; it is a deep look into the human cost of being forgotten. Meet the Crew: Kings Without a Castle * Jerz (Ty'Quaan): The loud, charismatic heart of the group, a Brim gang member and proud father of many children. He spins chaos into Bonversation, making the warehouse feel like a kingdom even as the guilt of his absence weighs heavy. * Frank: The elder statesman, 55, a crack survivor and a historian under the bridge. He preaches that the true enemy isn't the streets, but the systems—gentrification, outsourcing, and banks—that are "dismantlin' us, piece by piece". * Dump (Reese): Lean, quiet, and dangerous. A Bloods member and dealer of Ice and weed, he moves with surgical precision but is secretly tormented by spiritual addiction and his family's long history on the streets. * Nolo: A slim Louisiana transplant, his country twang is laced with sorrow. Addicted to Ice, he carries the secret of his bisexuality beneath his Blood affiliation, seeking refuge on a park bench and chasing a warmth the city will never give. * BJ: Young but aged by liquor, he battles epilepsy and drowns his pain in alcohol, using his loud, broken singing voice as a defiant form of visibility against a world that wants him erased. * Fat Boy (Chase): A man of violent contradictions, his explosive rage masks a deeper fear, fueled by a relentless cycle of Xanax, Coke, Ice, and beer. * Paulette: An undeniable force—loud, sharp-tongued, and a master scammer living in government housing. Her relationship with the limping comedian, JR, is a toxic ballet of love and war, a perfect reflection of survival wrapped in fear. The narrative weaves through their intertwined lives, exposing how addiction is often a form of relief—a "doorway out of the storm"—and how shame is the drug that never runs out. Dee realizes his own bitter irony: a former digital hacker now delivers food for tips, watching his sharp edges become blunt tools. "HOME-LESS" is a powerful testament to the resilience of the human spirit. It asks: How does one find dignity when society sees only trash in the shadows? It is a chorus of voices proving that even when the world subtracts the man, multiplies the misery, and tries to erase him piece by piece, survival remains a sacred rebellion. In the end, Dee carries away the ultimate lesson from Paulette: to survive, you must be "Unapologetically You".