Charles Woods was born in Columbia, S.C., and was raised in Washington, D.C. He attended high school at H.D. Woodson High School in Southeast D.C. where he played basketball for three years, which he still enjoys doing on the weekends.
Woods held a few jobs in the area, including working as an office mover at the World Bank for five years. He was then employed at Fort Wagner in Southwest D.C. for 12 years.
One of the best experiences of Woods’ life was meeting his wife. The two met in Maryland and have been married for seven years, Woods said. After they got married, they moved to Pittsburgh. While in Pittsburgh, Woods became homeless after he lost his job, which caused him and his wife to subsequently lose their home. They have been living in a shelter for the past two years. The two returned to D.C. from Pittsburgh one year ago and have been living in a shelter since then.
For right now, Woods says he enjoys working at Street Sense, which he discovered when he returned to D.C.
“Street Sense helps me keep money in my pocket and afford the bare necessities,” Woods said. He typically sells copies of the newspaper at the Union Station Metro station.
Woods dreams of returning to Columbia, S.C. “I want to build a house there because my family has some land there,” Woods said.
While in the D.C. area, Woods takes advantage of the abundance of seafood offerings. He loves eating all types of seafood, including shrimp and Maryland’s famous blue crabs. He also watches football and cheers on D.C.’s home team: the Washington Redskins.
In his free time, Woods said he enjoys watching Tyler Perry’s movies, especially Perry’s performances as Madea.
