Sure, we might donate to a shelter or volunteer at a soup kitchen, but most of us probably avoid looking at or talking to homeless people on the street. After University of Texas at Austin graduate student Kyle Miller observed how his peers ignored folks living on the main drag of the college town, he decided to take action. Miller recently teamed up with photographer Caitlin Collins to create “5 Dollar Stories,” an Instagram project that shares the pictures and backgrounds of homeless men in the community. Miller pays his subjects $5 and gives them food, water, and other supplies for their time.
“A lot of these older gentlemen have fought wars for us, they've traveled, they've had careers, and a lot of them were doing great and not on the street until one or two bad situations or circumstances happened to them,” Miller told KTBC. Click through to meet some of the guys Miller has photographed. You might be surprised by how much you have in common with them.