Being homeless is considered shameful for many Hmong so I'm sure it's the same

[theking]

...for the Vietnamese too  :

O.C.’s Vietnamese homeless people feel like outcasts in a culture of family, achievement

Tam Nguyen in the car where he sleeps in Little Saigon. Nguyen grew up in Vietnam and came to the U.S. to look for his white father.(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)


The bargain buyers drifted out of a popular Little Saigon fruit shop with tote bags full of pale brown longan and hairy red rambutan, barely glancing at the dirt-smeared face of Duc Tran.

Tran hovered near a door, hinting to passersby that he was thirsty with a drinking gesture and a finger to his throat. In Vietnamese, he asked for “tien mua mi” — money for a bowl of noodles.

He was a car salesman until chasing the high of methamphetamin es took over his life.

For the last five years or so, he has been roaming outside Little Saigon’s fabric stores and takeout eateries.

He is part of a ragtag group, many of whom lived through the devastation of the Vietnam War and came to the U.S. as refugees in their teens. They have converged on Little Saigon from the rest of the state and beyond, drawn by familiar foods and the ease of communicating in their native language.

Now, they bed down on sidewalks or in alleys along Bolsa Avenue and other thoroughfares. They number about 20, which locals say is an increase since the pandemic started.

Many cite mental illness or drugs as why they ended up on the streets.

In a culture anchored by family ties, career achievement and a strong work ethic, they are outliers — jobless, often estranged from loved ones, reduced to begging for dollars or banh mi sandwiches.

The shame can deepen their isolation.

Oliver Nguyen, 28, lives on the streets of Little Saigon and hopes to make it as a singer.(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)