• cynar@lemmy.world
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    6 hours ago

    They are technically slightly different terms. Someone can be homeless by choice. They could also be homeless, but have somewhere to stay (e.g. a shelter). Rough sleeping refers to people who have to sleep outside, without it being a choice on their part.

    The term has had a lot of creep. It’s akin to how the word retarded changed from a medical description to an insult.