In my case I am homeless because I'm in a bad situation with nobody to turn to. Almost everyone at some point in their lives has needed a little help. Maybe they lost their job. Maybe they lost their place to live. Maybe they got sick and needed a little help. Most people can turn to family or friends. But what if you don't have family that will help you? What if your "friends" turn their backs on you when they find out about your situation? What would you do then? It's easy to judge someone that is homeless if you have never been homeless yourself.
I'm not going to blame anyone for my situation though. Yes, I have a shitty family and they almost all pretty much suck. I don't have a mom or a dad that would take me in. I don't have family that will help me. That's just the cards I was dealt. I have to accept this and move on. I have to take care of myself. Because I have nobody I can turn to I should have had some money saved for situations like this but I didn't. I have been just getting by for too long. This has taught me a very valuable lesson. I need to rely on myself.
I haven't been homeless for all 3 years. This time around I have been homeless for about 2 months. I had a job in Massachusetts in April but I started having severe leg swelling due to a side effect of a medication I was taking. I didn't know what was causing the leg swelling at the time but it was so bad that even my knees were full of fluid. I was working 12 hour shifts standing and this was making the edema worse. One afternoon I asked my boss if I could leave work early so I could go to the doctors and he said he had no problem with that. About 3 hours later I got a call from the temp agency I was working through saying that my assignment had ended because I left work early. I felt stabbed in the back. I had no legal recourse because I was just a temp employee.
I moved back here to California and ended up staying with a friend. She lived in a 3 bedroom house and said her roommate was moving out so I could sleep on the couch until he moved out and then I could have his room. There was only one problem, one very big problem. The house she lived in wasn't her house. The house belonged to her parents. They didn't live there but they let her stay there rent free because she was looking for work. I never met her parents but she insisted everything would be fine. It wasn't fine. When her parents found out I was there they wanted me to leave immediately. No notice. No nothing. We decided to tell them I moved out thinking they would never find out I was there. Big mistake. They found out and then not only called the cops on me but threatened to evict her as well. The cops told them they would have to evict me and go through the court process but I decided to leave instead of trying to fight it. I didn't want my friend to get kicked out as well.
I stayed at a motel for a few nights until I ran out of money. I ended up getting a 5x5 storage unit so I could store my belongings and then I bought a sleeping bag and a camping pad. I've been on the streets ever since. Once in a while when I can gather up a few dollars I try and get a motel room for a few nights but that gets really expensive, really fast. I try to find safe, quiet places to sleep. That isn't easy at all. I found a place to sleep outside of some office buildings but I'm always worried the police are going to find me there and ticket me or worse, arrest me. I bought a 24 Hour Fitness membership so I'm able to shower and stay clean. I don't look homeless. But the fact is I am homeless.
 |
| My Sleeping Spot |
The past two months I have been trying to find ways to get comfortable living on the streets but I have been putting too much effort into how to live on the streets than how to get off the streets. I truly believe anyone that is capable can get off the streets in less than 90 days. So this is my challenge to myself. How long will it take me to get off the streets? I don't believe in excuses. I am sick of being in this situation. I have problems just like anyone else. But I have something not a lot of people on the streets have. Ambition. I want a better life for myself. I'm going to do whatever it takes to get my life back.
I have $44.87 to my name. I want to have a home by Thanksgiving. That's my goal. 3 months is the goal but ideally I will be off the streets a lot sooner than that. How long will it take me to rebuild my life from rock bottom? Read on to find out...
No comments:
Post a Comment