I was unable to afford a home because of fear of bouncing checks. I lived in an apartment with 3 other roommates.

And we all knew people who had died of AIDS, and I wasn't even in an at-risk community. Gay men I knew felt that they had gone through an apocalypse, like they were the survivors of a secret war that no one talked about.

Home ownership when I was growing up was around 50%. Not owning a home was extremely normal, not a sign of deprivation.