The Girls Guide to Homelessness

One of the central principles in the firewalking workshop I recently attended: Perception is not reality.

Need an illustration? Check out this woman, who has suddenly become perhaps the most prominent face of homelessness.

She looks for jobs using Internet from Starbucks. She has a blog, "The Girls Guide to Homelessness." And she's white.

Brianna Karp made national headlines after she e-mailed E. Jean Carroll, a popular advice columnist for Elle magazine.

Karp, who was laid off from her full-time job in July 2008, described bombing an audition for reality TV show designed to find an executive assistant for a big name celeb.

E. Jean wrote back in Elle -- a response that included offering Karp an internship.

So now, after contacting someone on a whim, Karp has an internship. And she blogs for Elle.

Inspirational story, right? Turns out the impact is deeper than that.

Check out Karp's Elle blog and you'll see a mix of comments. Some are enthusiastic. But just as many criticize Karp for not "really" being homeless. Or only gaining public attention because of her race.

There's no right or wrong answers in dialogue like this, only a slight reminder that our perception of those most in need is always open to revision.