via Think Progress
“I’m probably gonna wind up in jail,” Franklin said one June afternoon off a highway in south Florida, a statement made only more chilling by the fact that it was clear he’s had to say those same words in the past.

The 53-year-old doesn’t exactly fit the notion of someone who “deserves” to be homeless. He served in the nation’s armed forces when he was younger. He wants to work, spending every morning putting in applications at local businesses. “I put in an application right there, Home Depot right here, they said don’t even bother, man,” he told filmmaker Andres Lopez.

Despite attempts by some to argue that poor people actually live pampered lives on the dole, Franklin’s is anything but glamorous. He lives in the woods off the highway. He spends his mornings fruitlessly applying for jobs, his afternoons asking people for spare change. On a good day, he gets $10 from drivers off I-95.

Which is where he found himself facing possible jailtime earlier this summer after being ticketed by the Florida Highway Patrol for violating a state law that prohibits pedestrians from walking on highway exit ramps. Franklin was going car to car to ask for money, a violation that earned him a $64.50 citation.

“This is the fourth one I’ve gotten,” he explained. He’d managed to pay off the others, successfully begging for enough money to cover them then catching a bus downtown to physically hand over the cash. But he wasn’t optimistic this time. “It’s either that or go to jail.”

He didn’t regret violating Florida statute 316.130 §18 — “I got no choice. I’ve gotta survive somehow.” — but with an expensive ticket hanging over his head, his life was made even harder. “Every time I try to do anything, I get kicked in my ass,” he told Lopez. “I guess I’m just stupid, I don’t know.”
By Scott Keyes on September 19, 2013

Please read his story on the criminalization of homelessness trend.
http://columbianewsservice.com/2013/03/activists-accuse-cities-of-criminalizing-the-homeless/