Editor's note: The responses and living conditions in this story are relayed as told to SFGATE and could not be independently verified.

In recent days, we've been asking people living in San Francisco without permanent housing questions about their struggles surviving on the streets for a new series on SFGATE.

Some questions, such as "How did you become homeless," brought tears to people's eyes. A woman whose life spiraled out of control after a miscarriage said she couldn't talk about the incident that pushed her towards the streets. A man whose son was killed lifted his beer and drank half the bottle after he shared the tragedy was the beginning of his downfall.

Other questions, such as "What's it like sleeping in a shelter?" drew disgust. "They're full of bed bugs," said Angela Kellum, 57, who has slept mostly on the concrete sidewalk for the past 10 years and has been medicating her aches with alcohol, though she has been trying to quit.

But this question, "What's the best thing that happened to you last week?" brought smiles to most people's faces and you'll understand why in the responses below. Two out of the 17 people asked this question said their lives are too hard to see any good.

What's the best thing that happened to you last week?

Some people felt joy by connecting with family members and friends.

"I ran into someone from years ago. It's someone who didn't know me in this new context of being homeless and they understood. We hung out all day together. It felt nice to remember my past." —Shondi, 45, living on the street two years, hometown Arizona, lived in SF since 1995

"My daughter ... she lives across the bay, and she came to visit." —Juan, 58, living on the streets for 20 years, hometown San Francisco

"I talked to my mom. She lives in Playa del Carmen [Mexico]." —Stephanie, 26, living on the street for one year, hometown Cancun, Mexico, lived in SF for seven years

"I got an email from my wife. The email said listen to a song called 'Precious' by Esperanza Spalding." —Wizdom Williams, 53, living on the street one year, lived in Barbados, West Africa and France before his family moved to San Francisco when he was in high school

Several shared simple acts of kindness from strangers.

"Someone said, 'Hey,' and called me over and pulled a bag of clothes from the trunk of his car. I got this Chicago Bulls sweatshirt. I really needed some new clothes. Mine were all stolen." —Rickey, 58, living on the street for 30 years, hometown Ozark, Ala.

"Someone walked up and gave me $50 bucks. I got food, washed my clothes, and got shelter for the week. I didn't buy drugs because I don't do drugs." —Danny, 60, living on the streets for eight years, hometown San Francisco

"Someone took me to McDonald's last week and bought me a big breakfast." —Shiobahn, 48, living on streets many years, currently in low-income housing, hometown San Francisco

Many mentioned getting help from local social services.

"I found out I'm getting processed into sober-living housing." —James, 34, living on streets for 15 years, hometown Burlingame

"I got help from an advocacy program that will help me with my eviction case." —Keith, 48, living on the street off and on for 17 years, recently evicted, hometown San Francisco

"I was able to maintain my sanity and humanity." —Dwayne, 59, living on the streets six years, hometown Oakland/San Francisco

"A church came by and gave me this shirt and some food. It was the Baptist church." —Michael Goodman, 69, living on the street for three years, born and raised in S.F.

GALLERY: Former homeless people share how to help

The list of things people shared that brought them happiness was random and varied.

"I really wanted to do some home cooking, and I cooked some food at a friend's house." —Annette, 59, living in shelters and on the streets for 5 years, hometown East Palo Alto

"I found a rum-filled coconut at Dolores Park." —Elliott, 49, newly homeless, hometown San Francisco

"Watching the Blue Angels." —Wes, 62, living on the street for 2 years, hometown San Francisco

"I slept inside a couple days at a girlfriend's house." —Raymond, 54, living on the street one year, hometown San Francisco

One woman who is desperate to get off the streets so she can kick her alcohol habit and turn around her life, couldn't think of anything positive that happened last week

"Nothing. I drink beer because it help with everything. If I got a place, I could stop drinking because I could sleep. The reason I drink is because I have to sleep on the sidewalk at night." —Angela Kellum, 10 years living on the street, hometown Florida, lived in SF since 2005

Another thought a better question would be, "What's the meanest thing that was said to you last week?" and so she chose to answer that question.

"People are so mean to us. About two, three days ago, a guy that owned a moving company was here with his truck and he was saying, 'mother f------ bitches' and 'stupid sh___,' just cussing, calling us a 'nuisance.' I've had eggs thrown at us. Then after the eggs, he threw a yogurt, and hit his car. He called the police and said we did it. See what I'm saying, so obnoxious." —Alexis, 33, hometown San Francisco, living on streets for about a year

(Note: The majority of the people we spoke with asked to use only their first name due to the sensitivity of the subject. Many worried sharing their stories would make potential employers wary of hiring them.)

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Living on the streets in San Francisco

Invisible to many who walk by them, more than 7,000 people live in San Francisco without permanent housing. Each of these people face daily struggles living on the street, working jobs while living in a tent or shelter, fighting addiction and mental illness, finding places to shower, and always figuring out where to sleep that night.

Their lives are mind-bogglingly difficult, but how how did they get there? Where did things go wrong? For a new series on SFGATE, we're talking with some of these individuals, both men and women of all ages and all walks of life, about their experiences surviving the streets.

We hope you'll have ideas for more questions we can ask and you can email those to agraff@sfgate.com.

Read more in the series:

We asked 12 homeless people what happened. Their answers show we all are close to the streets