Library officials struggling with stereotype of downtown branch as magnet for homeless – Winston Salem Journal

Tucked away behind a tall, unruly bush near the front entrance to the Central Library, a sturdy wooden picnic table is all but invisible to motorists zipping down Fifth Street.

It’s like that for a reason.

The people who use it, for the most part, are homeless. They’re down on their luck, perhaps handicapped by substance abuse or tortured by mental illness. Like the table where they often gather before the library opens, they’re shoved out of sight — nearly invisible.

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