MARIETTA - Across the country and here in suburban Cobb County, the despair of homelessness has deepened with the economic downturn. Local homeless advocates say at least 400 and as many as 700 people in Cobb are without a place to sleep each night, most unable to find employment.

Jim Connolly is one of them. The housing bust took his job as an air-conditioning installer with it.

But for the last six weeks, Connolly, 51, has had the opportunity to get back on his feet. He's had a bed, a hot meal and a shower to come home to at MUST Ministries in Marietta. To him, these basic necessities are luxuries.

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Connolly said his world fell apart about a year ago, when his mother died.

"It was the icing on the cake," he said.

Three years ago, he moved to Canton from Fort Lauderdale to work as a subcontractor in heating and air conditioning installation. When the economy plummeted, he couldn't muster enough customers to sustain his business, he said.

Connolly lost a comfortable living of more than $60,000 a year, and the dominos began falling.

He had to sell his truck, and then his house. He lost his mother and had no place to live.

Without a place to stay, Connolly became homeless. He had to learn quickly how to survive on the streets.

"You have to find some place dry so you don't get wet. You also to have to find a place to hide your clothes while you're out trying to find a job," he said. It was a lesson he learned the hard way after someone stole all of his clothing.

There's no such thing as a good night's rest on the streets, he said.

"You always worry about your safety, so you don't sleep good. You have to sleep with one eye open because you never know what is going to come up on you," he said.

Connolly survived sleeping in 20-degree weather last winter. His bed and pillow were made of leaves. He was fortunate to find a tarp, which he tied to a fence for a little shelter from the elements. At night, he had to move around so he didn't freeze.

He's gone without food for four days. Occasionally, he was able to scrounge loose change to get a meal.

"I'm not a dumpster diver, but you pick up a little change here and there. I held up a sign and a couple of times I got a little bit of work. You make a few bucks, find an all-you-can-eat buffet for $6.99 and chow out," he said.

He's lost 30 pounds, and said that drinking water helps the stomach feel full.

He's also lost some of his pride from being on the streets.

"It makes you feel low - walking around with no money in your pockets when you used to have hundreds. I walk around with pennies in my pocket that I pick up off the street," he said.

Connolly remembers his past life. He worked in the heating and air conditioning installment industry for 30 years, which afforded him a Harley Davidson motorcycle. He loved taking it out for rides. Every Sunday, he would go to Deerfield Beach in Ft. Lauderdale to hang out and jet ski.

He said he made a very good living. Now, he has nothing.

"I just want to get back into AC again and eventually get myself an apartment. I want to start over again and get back to where I was. I lost my truck, my house and a place to sleep. It's just me now," he said. "I don't want much; I just want to get some of my stuff back."

Since staying at MUST Ministries, Connolly has been able to get a part-time job at JVC Technologies in Marietta, a packaging company.

Connolly said MUST has been a godsend.

"You eat good, have a place to sleep, shower and can get out to look for something. When you're out on the street, you can't look presentable when you're going for a job interview," he said.

But Connolly's time at the MUST Ministries Elizabeth Inn shelter was up over the weekend. People are only allowed to stay at the shelter for six weeks.

Connolly wasn't eligible for transitional housing because he could never find a full-time job.

Saturday, he returned to the streets.

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The most recent count of homelessness in Cobb County, taken in January, said there are about 480 homeless people. The county has enough beds for 445 people, plus 23 seasonal beds, said Rev. Andy Peabody, director of programs at MUST Ministries.

Unfounded stereotypes exist about the homeless, Peabody said.

"There is not a typical homeless person because the social ills that affect all of society are the same proximate causes for a descent into homelessness: mental illness, alcohol/drug use, loss of job/income, divorce, family violence, sexual abuse in or out of the home," he said.

A few weeks ago, MUST Ministries was helping several former "white collar" employees who lost their jobs because of company cutbacks and the economy, said Kelley Henderson, manager of the Elizabeth Inn at MUST Ministries.

Connolly said a former bank lender works on the line next to him at JVC.

He warns about having bias toward the homeless.

"People just don't give you a chance, but I've met some really nice guys out there that have just hit some hard times. It definitely has changed. Within the last year or so, it's changed big time.

"Now it could be anyone. It could be you," Connolly said.