Wednesday, December 18th at 2:38 p.m. Jose and Fred are standing on the median, from adjacent sides of New Hampshire Avenue. Both are holding cardboard signs asking for money, while cars and trucks buzz by them. Neither are actually standing, Fred is sitting in a wheelchair and Jose is on crutches due to his two prosthetic legs.

According to the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, in 2013 there were 1,004 homeless people in Montgomery County living both on the streets and in shelters.

“I’m applying for disability right now. They denied me twice, because they didn’t know I was hurt like this. Now I got a lawyer, and until I get it, I’m out here trying to pay the rent,” Fred said.

More than 40 percent of homeless people in Montgomery County living alone are reported to have chronic health conditions or physical disabilities. Fred and Jose fall in that 40 percent.

“I fell on my back and they found a tumor in my back, pressing on my spine, and I lost all the feeling from here to here [gesturing from his stomach to his knees]. I can feel my legs but I can’t feel anything here,”said Fred.

Fred rents a room for 50 dollars a week with donations from drivers. Five years ago, he was the boss of a carpentry company with 27 people working under him. He didn’t share his reasons for losing his company.

Jose is from Honduras and when he chose to come to the United States, he thought he was going to have a better life. But the government does not provide him with the financial help he needs for his disability. He doesn’t speak fluent English.

“I lost my legs to diabetes. I rent a room on Randolph road, but all my family lives in North Carolina,” Jose said.

The government has specific guidelines for Social Security and disability benefits; people that are homeless usually don’t have a recent  job or a permanent address that is required for the application.

“Without money, nobody can do anything. I only get enough money to pay my rent and hardly to buy food and clothes,”Jose said.

You can donate a variety of things, ranging from time to food to money, to the Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless (MCCH), a program dedicated to ending homelessness in Montgomery County. You can donate money online through their website and get information about other ways you can help.