Questions for a Shelter Employee

My friend works part time at a homeless shelter in Leicester and she gave me permission to interview her with regards to the people she helps. This was in order to become more informed when I write my picture book.

1) What do homeless people do while they are on the street?
A lot of people who stay in shelters aren't allowed to be in them during the day so many people who beg on the streets are staying in a shelter at night. But shelters aren't always a good place, they are filled with drugs and this guy I was speaking to today who got out of prison two days ago said prison was nicer than the shelter he's in. So a lot of people choose to stay on the street. A lot of people stay in tents, some say they are roofless not homeless because they have a home. (As for money) They get benefits, but the government is essentially making it more difficult for them to get money.

2) Do you see a lot of people with dogs and how do they benefit from their company?
Won't really be able to answer this as nobody we know has a dog! Most people don't because the can't keep them in a shelter. I've seen them (people with dogs) but nobody with one comes into the shelter which is sad.

3)Do you think people need to be made more aware of the homeless?
It's the way people in society look at and perceive the homeless which is the main issue. They're viewed as less than people so maybe focusing on a way to show that they are people is a good way of framing it (my book). Like this guy told us that the worst part of being homeless isn't the cold or the lack of money but the way people pretend they haven't seen him or look away and ignore him.

4) What do the homeless people you help go on to do?
Some homeless people work by doing odd jobs by doing odd jobs like handy man things, pretty sure one guy has his own flat now because he kicked his alcohol dependancy is working with diggers. One person is a painter and decorator.

I then pitched my book idea to her, telling her my planned storyline and this was her feedback.
Focus it on perceptions of the homeless and how the dog looks at him without judgement, because societal views of the homeless are the most important thing. I think not revealing that he (my character) is homeless right away is a good idea as the readers will not judge him straight away.

This information will be very useful when it comes to creating my characters and storyboarding my picture book. I will be sure to ask my friend for more feedback on my work further into the project.