We see them practically every day on the streets of downtown Kissimmee and St. Cloud and other Central Florida areas far and in-between.

They often are disheveled and dirty, in tattered clothing. Most haven’t bathed in weeks or even months. Some are alone. Some are with their families. All are victims.

Being homeless is probably something most of us rarely think about until we see one of “them.” They are not “bums,” just people who have had a stretch of bad luck, had their homes foreclosed right out from under them, lost their jobs.

In this economic climate, it’s amazing any of us still have our homes … and jobs. It can happen to any one of us at any time. And it is probably one of the worst things anyone can imagine, the reason we tend to put it out of our minds and not think about it.

Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee recently hosted the 2010 Project Homeless Connect, where some 600 homeless people, as well as low-income residents, responded to offers of shelter, medical help, legal aide, identification applications, food stamp applications and even hot showers.

Cathy Jackson, executive director of the Homeless Services Network of Central Florida, said, “Many of the folks who came that day are working and living in a car or circling motels. Folks are willing to endure a whole lot to keep what they believe is stable – stable.”

Osceola County School District reported that 1,340 children enrolled in local schools for the 2009-10 school year were homeless.

Tom Griffin, who founded St. Cloud’s Transition House in 1993, said one in three homeless individuals is a veteran.

“Years ago, it was perceived homeless was the single, unaccompanied male. That’s not the case today. Now you see families, women with children, veterans,” he said.

Clearly, it’s a problem – a very unfortunate one. Whether it be economic circumstances, a run of very bad luck or – in some cases – just plain laziness, the homeless are an ever-present society within our community. Some ask for handouts while others simply walk the streets looking for whatever discarded scraps they can eat or use to care for themselves.

We may not have money to give them – or even want to – or a shelter to put them up, but we can give them something that might at least keep their spirits up a little and doesn’t cost a dime: respect.

And maybe one of these days, there will be a “cure.” One can only hope.