Ciggies not included. Picture: AP
IT MAY not sound like everyone's idea of a great tour, but a homeless man in Seattle is hoping to cash in on people who want to see what life on the streets is really like.
Mike Momany, who worked as a contractor programmer, became homeless after his business fell into financial difficulty.
The 62-year-old has been looking at ways to make money ever since including with a marijuana tour of Washington State's pot growing operations.
But it was a three-day tour of his city's homeless areas which really sparked his interest in showing how people on the streets really live.
With more than 9000 people estimated to be homeless on Seattle's streets, Mr Momany told CNN he hoped the tour, which he calls a "private course in applied homelessness" would raise people's awareness about the issue.
And for $2000, Mr Momany is hoping to make some money out of it as well, with 25 per cent of the profit going to charity.
As part of the tour, participants will be offered the chance to dress like a homeless person so they will better fit in and will stay at a $15 a night hostel, similar to a shelter.
If that doesn't take your fancy, then hanging around the Seattle Public Library, talking to homeless people or grabbing a nap on a park bench at 3am might.
However the course, which has so far attracted no takers, has caused some debate about its true purpose and cashing in on homeless people's bad luck.
National Coalition for the Homeless director Michael Stoops told CNN he thought Mr Momany's intentions were in the right place, but didn't think it was a good idea to make money from it.
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