NEIGHBORS IN NEED
On Jan. 15, community leader Mike Burnett spent the night on the streets of San Angelo.
“Mike’s Night Out” was an attempt to raise awareness of the realities of homelessness in our community and the solutions in progress to solve them.
While the event largely had positive reception, critics argued that it might be too performative to be impactful. It’s true – the event, in some ways, was a performance – it was a planned, time-limited experience by someone who could go home when the night was over. But demonstrations and awareness events, while limited, can still make a difference.
So, what can a night like this actually reveal – and what are its limits?
Mike’s Intent
Not to “Play Homeless,” but to Confront Blind Spots
Mike was clear about one thing: his intent was not to pretend to be another person for a night – rather, he wanted to understand on a personal level what homelessness for him might truly look like.
And he understood that, with his existing knowledge of community programs and resources, he’d need to approach this in a unique way.
“I had to put myself in the mindset of, if I were a homeless person – not if I’m Mike Burnett, Executive Director – how would I react to this moment around me?”
To enhance the unpredictable aspect of the experience, Mike’s team prepared “chance cards” – opportunities to experience common barriers and obstacles faced by homeless community members every day. These chance cards worked as a deliberate mechanism to introduce unpredictability – something with which the unsheltered among us are far too familiar.
“The goal was to engage me in a way that forced me to think as a homeless person in this situation. How would I respond?”
Mike is aware of the online critiques he received via social media. And he appreciates the feedback, seeing it as a way to further the conversation around homelessness in general.
“One of the lessons we learned as an agency was on the messaging leading up to it,” he said. “I feel like we dropped the ball in some places explaining it. We were purposefully being vague to draw some interest, but that was really misunderstood. Like, there was a misconception that this stuff was coming to me personally. Going forward, we need to keep that stuff in mind.”
The goal of the project wasn’t to replicate homelessness – it was to expose barriers that most don’t see.
And for Mike, as a person of privilege, there are many things he couldn’t see, even on the streets himself.
The Privilege Factor
What Mike Couldn’t Experience
Throughout our interview, Mike acknowledged the privileged markings of his identity several times: a white, male, well-known community leader. But he also pondered what the differences would have been for others.
What if he were a woman?
At one point, Mike found himself at the river walk, where the lights are timed, turning off promptly at midnight. This left him alone in the darkness.
“While sitting there, I was thinking through things like, if I were female, how would that change the situation? And that was a huge difference.” Would being a woman feel more unsafe in that situation?
What if he were black or brown?
Mike received a sleeping bag as one of his chance cards, and carrying it around gave him a sudden, acute awareness of his visibility.
“Now I’m more easily identified as a homeless person, because I’m carrying around a big bag,” he said, “And that really made me think about my actions.”
Could racism play a role in his being harassed?
What if he had a disability?
While walking around downtown, Mike noticed the rocky, sometimes barely-there sidewalks of the San Angelo streets. This made him consider his physical abilities.
“If I had a walker, a cane, a wheelchair… it could have been rough,” he said. “You could really hurt yourself.”
What if he had a pet with him?
When deciding to use the bathroom, Mike considered how his options might be different if he was also responsible for a dog. Many businesses – and even shelters – don’t allow animals inside. This would mean a longer walk, or even unsafe conditions for Mike and his animal.
While Mike acknowledges that his experience of homelessness was incomplete, the night out did lend insight to common barriers, which he was able to experience first-hand.
The Barriers He Encountered
Timing and access
One of Mike’s chance cards informed him that he could receive a free meal if he made it on time to the Clubhouse, a local nonprofit who sometimes engages with homeless outreach. Due to his professional lens, Mike was already aware of these services. But what he didn’t know was that, when you’re homeless, timing really is everything.
His mistake was not arriving late – it was arriving too early. Mike was told they were not ready for him, and that he could wait outside. This was a stark contrast between his previous experiences with arriving slightly early to meetings or events with community partners.
“With our partners, if I arrive early, it’s like, ‘hey, I’ll just hang out here in the corner or whatever,’”, he said.
“But this time it was, ‘Sir, we’re not ready for you. You need to come back at eight. So that was another moment of reality.”
When you’re homeless, your choice is often to arrive exactly on time, be forced to stand in the unforgiving elements and wait, or to miss out altogether. In this way, people experiencing homelessness are held to a higher standard and stricter rules of punctuality – meaning they have narrower windows of access to critical services in times of need.
Faulty Infrastructure
Certain parts of the river walk are unlit and unpathed. Without so much as a flashlight, this led Mike to feel unsafe.
“As a community, we’ve invested a lot of dollars into one side of the river walk,” he said, “And I know there’s plans to do parts of the other side – but what are some things we could do in the interim that would make traversing through town a little safer?”
His experience with the shabby sidewalks reminded him of the privilege of reliable transportation.
“What opened my eyes was, as someone who works downtown, I tend not to walk anywhere – I tend to drive. And I don’t notice the sidewalks.”
For people without the luxury of a car, getting around in San Angelo can be a difficult, at
times even dangerous thing.
The weight of resources
In addition to a sleeping bag, Mike received a hygiene kit from the Clubhouse and a hat, gloves, underwear, and a scarf from Cross Roads Ministries, who often provide items like these at Homeless Navigation Day.
The warmth was a relief, but having these items, at times, came with the burden of fear – fear of losing them, fear of having to leave them behind, fear of being targeted as a homeless person, and fear of theft by others in desperate need.
The Long Night: Cold, Darkness, Mental Awareness
Mike was not only on the street that night – he was alone. And he felt alone.
“A lot of our homeless neighbors are battling harsh mental health addiction issues,” he said. “If I were homeless in that moment and alone in my thoughts, and my thoughts were saying, ‘you’re not good enough, you don’t deserve love, you did this to yourself, society doesn’t like you’ – like all these things society says – I could easily see how that would get deeper and deeper into a mental health crisis.”
Mike noted the often overlooked privilege of distraction.
“In the middle of the night at home, if I wake up, I can easily just get on the phone, turn the TV on… but at this moment, there’s not that,” he said. “If you’re already experiencing mental health issues, it is very, very dangerous. You could really see how it could all go downhill.”
Mike said if he’d had a pet as a companion in those moments – or anyone to talk to – it may have been a lot easier.
He posed the question: “How do you wrestle with the demons in your head when it’s all you hear?”
To add to the mental and physical toll, on the streets, it’s hard to find a place to simply exist.
Nowhere to sit, nowhere to be
Mike experienced the frustrations of having to move from one place to the next because there was nowhere he could safely sit down and rest. From encountering benches designed to deter lying down, to finally finding a comfortable bench at a church and having the automated sprinkler system turn on – he struggled to find relief.
Now, imagine doing that every single night.
This experience gave Mike a deeper understanding of the community he serves in his work every day. He was reminded that the environment directly affects mental and physical health. And that certain stereotypes and stigmas aren’t just lacking compassion – they lack true understanding.
“A lot of times we hear, ‘they just need to get a job,’” he said. “Well, let’s say I do have a job. And I’m sleeping under the bridge, and I have to be at work at 8 a.m.
“When I wake up, where am I brushing my teeth? Where am I getting clean? There’s nowhere to do it… but the biggest concern I had was, if I had accumulated stuff, like my sleeping bag or food, I’m not taking it with me to work. I’ve got to leave it here, 29 blocks away. When I come back, is my stuff still there?”
Mike gained a more profound understanding of the risk of employment.
It’s hard to come by work when you’re homeless, it’s hard to keep a job, and it’s harder still to keep your belongings safe and intact. In this way, employment can easily destabilize someone’s already fragile resource system.
Crime, Safety, and the Realities No One Wants to Talk About
Mike’s experience with needing to constantly be on the move stood out to him as a major issue for those experiencing homelessness.
When he did see an awning he might consider standing under, he realized he’d likely be trespassing if he stayed there for too long.
“I don’t want business owners to think I’m not sympathetic to their situations,” he said, “But at the same time, if we as a community had a better response, I guarantee the places downtown wouldn’t be broken into as much.”
One potential contributing factor to shelter scarcity and increased crime is inclement weather – something to which the people of San Angelo are no strangers.
Mike points to this harsh winter cold as one of the hardest parts of his experience.
“It was about 2 or 3 o’clock, it was about 50 degrees, and it felt like 45 because of the wind,” he said. “It was significantly uncomfortable. And cold weather shelters don’t typically kick in until about 35 degrees.”
Some critics questioned why Mike’s Night Out took place downtown, closer to resources.
Why not move it somewhere where there aren’t any places to go for help? Mike’s response?
“Come 5 o’clock, there are no resources downtown.”
This stood out as another clear gap in services San Angelo is missing – the void after working hours and on weekends. Although there have been a few agencies here and there to provide services during these hours, the majority of services are reserved for the typical work week.
Mike is convinced the Homeless Planning Coalition can work to fill this gap. He is already at work brainstorming ideas for a solution.
“Let’s say every night of a year, our coalition is going to have something valuable – whether it’s food, water, an awning, a place they can sleep and get warm – you know, I don’t know what it is. But man, what a great thing that could be, until we get Rock Rose up and running.”
Overall, Mike’s experience, though limited, appeared to be worth it.
- It started lively conversations in the community.
- It offered glimpses into the everyday experience of many of our neighbors.
- It helped one community leader to better understand the very people he is dedicated to
serving.
And, most importantly, it re-energized his commitment to systemic change.
Mike’s Night Out is not a replacement for lived experience – nothing can replace that. But events like these can serve as catalysts for meaningful change where it’s needed most.
What comes next
Concho Valley Community Action Agency is already hard at work, planning the next event – this time to take place in a different part of San Angelo, during a summer day.
The Homeless Planning Coalition will discuss potential solutions to after-hour access to resources.
Mike’s update about Rock Rose Community Campus
The team is still working on donor engagement and confirming the official location of the project, and they’re looking forward to a big announcement in the spring.
