The traffic officer who stops a man in a BMW knows that man's sister might be a lawyer, the man himself might be a lawyer, at any rate the man has the resources to make trouble if he is dealt with unfairly. Middle-class people have rights and they like to think that everyone does. The rich, of course, know that rights are bought and sold, and the poor know it too. Those between them live in an illusion. Eighner sounds like such a capable rational person throughout this account that it seems difficult to believe that he was down and out for so many years.
Home is the natural destination of any homeless person.
But nothing can be done in a day, in a week, in a year to get nearer that destination. No perceptible progress can be made. In the absence of progress, time is nearly meaningless. Some days are more comfortable than others. Moreover, no homeless person would be likely to be able to obtain employment immediately even if he were somehow delivered from the streets.