“We don’t know exactly how to refer to this group of people, many of whom voluntarily reject conventional housing. But it’s clear they are not homeless in the same sense that a family which has lost its house to foreclosure is homeless.”

A step in the right direction might be to refer to people without homes as individuals with unique circumstances.

As someone who volunteers with the homeless and knows a number in the ill-favored group, I’m very wary of constructs that can “clearly” place people into two groups—especially when the label implies the groups should be treated differently.

“Transient public dependents” is a terrible, value-laden label that shows The Sentinel editorial writers have a ways to go before they can answer their own question.