ST. PETERSBURG — Joey Phillips saw this coming.

Unable to find steady work for more than two years, the 44-year-old former security guard warned his roommate and landlord he was running out of money. He began eating at soup kitchens.

On Jan. 14 about 7 a.m., he handed over his keys, walked out of his 15th Street N apartment and joined the growing ranks of people living on the streets of a city named one of the meanest in the country toward the homeless.

Then he made a surprising discovery: It’s not so bad.

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