What are vagrants?

A vagrant is simply someone who does not have a fixed home or a permanent address right now.

Imagine you are playing with your favorite toy car. Most kids keep their cars on the shelf, in the box, or under the bed. That is like having a house. A vagrant is like a toy car that has been left out in the rain and wandered all over the yard, maybe ending up near the fence instead of its usual spot.

You might think people without homes sleep in parks or on benches. This is true! They often stay in shelters at night, which are like big community beds in a library. But during the day, you can see them walking around the city with all their belongings in a backpack. It is like when you go on a long camping trip but you do not have a tent; you just carry everything you need to survive with you.

Sometimes people become vagrants because they lost their jobs or their house, so they move around until things get better. Other times, they just prefer the freedom of being able to go anywhere, like birds flying south but not quite settling down yet. They are not broken or bad; they are just in a different kind of life journey than you and me.

In short, a vagrant is someone whose "home" moves with them because their backpack is the house.