Editor’s note: This column mentions sexual assault.

When people say that individuals are homeless on the streets because they don’t want to follow shelter rules, I find that to be rare. There is usually more to the story.

One man has voices in his head that get louder in the middle of the night. Meds have not helped. He can work through the noise in his head by getting fresh air, and by sweeping.

Most shelters have curfews that require people to be inside during the night. He’s not able to quiet his voices; he’s not able to sleep, unless he can do a physical mundane task to accomplish something (clean sidewalks).

So sure, he can’t follow common curfew rules. Yet the curfew rules usually don’t allow for exceptions that would enable him to work outside through the voices, and then come i

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