Homeless stories

[Tectrus Moa]

One of the worse experiences a person can endure in his/her life is long-term homelessness. When people think of homeless individuals, people tend to think of drug addicts and panhandlers. What most people don’t realize is that there are thousands of homeless people who aren’t drug addicts or panhandlers, people who just happen to be less unfortunate with limited opportunities. Although we live in America, the richest and the most powerful country in the world, there’s a lot of people struggling everyday just to make ends meet. It’s even worse when an individual or a family is homeless.

Throughout my life, poverty has always been one of my darkest enemies. When I look back during my college years, I often think about how I managed to graduate with a degree that I dreamt about since I was a kid. Come to think about it, most of the kids I attended school with and the neighborhood ones haven’t finished high school. They’re still living at home while their lives aren’t going anywhere. The difference b/w them and myself is they have families and resources while I don’t have that luxury. At a young age, I had to grow up fast. I had to work to provide for myself and others. I’ve never really had a place to call home in Detroit until I was 18 because that’s when I got my first apartment.

When I finished college, financially, things started to go downhill for me. Since I wasn’t a student anymore, I lost my job as a Teaching Assistant as well as a research assistant. Every day, I’d search for employment from sun up to sun down. I had a few interviews but I had no success of obtaining a job. Days, weeks, and months eventually passed until April 1, 2011 finally approached. That was the day I had to move out of my apartment. Everything from my bank accounts to my credit cards where dried up. With $700.00 in my pocket, I had nowhere to go. With no family to help me out, and all of my friends did not have a place of their own, I was forced to go seek a shelter. I won’t disclose the name of the homeless shelter I lived in for four months but I will state that it felt like jail with limited freedom.

When I arrived at the shelter, I felt as if I reached a new low and it was all my doing. I was given dirty looks by the staff, I had to change clothes (shelter clothes), and I was introduced to a roommate and then told to shower. Each day was a struggle and each day was a lesson. The staff woke us up at 5:30am, we had to stand outside our rooms in line, they would do a head count, and then we were instructed downstairs to eat breakfast. The staff members were like pretend-to-be Correctional Officers. They’d talk smack to people, kick people out for verbally defending themselves, and talk down to people simply because they had a job and a place to stay. Who am I? Most of the time, I’d sat in the lobby until 8:00am arrived because that’s when the library opens. I’d do my usual job searching throughout the day and then head back to the shelter because curfew was at 10:00pm.

Most of the people who were in the shelter were older people (I won’t judge because everyone in that place had their own struggle) but there were very few young people like myself at that time. I can recall when I was laying down in bed; my roommates were having a discussion about prison and life in general. One guy said, “No offense to young blood but what the hell are you doin’ in a shelter? What did you do to yo’ moms so bad that she put yo’ ass out?” The guy didn’t even know my story nor did he know me!

In August 2011, I was told to leave for unknown reasons. With nowhere to go, I lived somewhere else, a place I’d rather not say at this time. In February 2012, I got a job with a mortgage company, a company that I’m still working for to this day. I was homeless for almost a year. Am I angry about the events that I experienced? Yes! Am I angry about how people treated me? Yes, but I understand. This whole thing was a learning experience. I learned that I can’t control my future, I can only choose to make decisions that will make me a better person in the future. I don’t hate anyone who turned their back on me and who judged me for worse, I can only see it as ignorance on their end.

I’m a lot better now as I was then and I hope I won’t have to experience homelessness again as I have done in my childhood and in 2011. It made me a must more stronger person than I was before and it taught me that life is a constant struggle. If any of you have experienced something similar, I’d like to read your story.

[Sky Blue Bally Kid]

I've not but you did outstanding to break the cycle, props...

[food for thought]

I hope skampoe and mumm ra throw in a couple of stories of how they used to eat food allocated for the homeless.

[TheFunkyDrummer]

Nice read, good to hear you found your place.

Originally Posted by food for thought

I hope skampoe and mumm ra throw in a couple of stories of how they used to eat food allocated for the homeless.

lmao

[Rob Swanson]

So filing for unemployment (which you are entitled to), deferring student loan payments, and sucking it up and going to one of those day labor places somehow was not feasible, or were those options exhausted?

[Tectrus Moa]

Originally Posted by Sideshow Bob

So filing for unemployment (which you are entitled to), deferring student loan payments, and sucking it up and going to one of those day labor places somehow was not feasible, or were those options exhausted?

This may sound hard to believe but at the time, I was research assistant barely working 20 hours a week. I was told that I couldn't get unemployment because I didn't make enough.

As for the student loans, I informed them I was enduring hardships. I was placed on deferment. The temp work never work out for me. They were full of crap.

[MASTER PAI MEI]

I seen the movie "Being Flynn"

[Rob Swanson]

You dont wanna deal with those temp agencies

There is always work in the general labor section of craigslist

Or find a construction/roofing/landscaping company and walk in the door and ask if they have openings. They always will.

Personally i feel its impossible to fail in a 1st world country.

My generation is scared of physical work and getting their hands dirty. How soft are your hands Tectrus?

[INF]

they most likely soft like a woman's hands.


I've fell back a few times in my life so far and came right back before a year of grinding , it isn't easy but it can be done and more than once too. I have a brother dealing with this same shit right now and half of his whoa is because he dont wanna really work whatever job it takes to get out of the hole.


Man ... last year you don't even wanna know how bad I was doing and this year I have EVERYTHING I could want and need. Its silly ... I look for shit to buy out of boredom and ALL my bills stay paid and I have my own home.


mf's is just lazy straight up , I been there and done that

[Rob Swanson]

Pretty obvious Infinity performed a strong armed robbery @ the Crumple Estate, and made off with all of the Hobbit gold

[JehovAllah]

i would hate to type up stories abt my life and shit, i have to mix some songs im working on so i dont wanna type any thing right now, thanks to ANDROID and the voice to text feature on the keyboard...

any who, i have this song not really a song, i just spoke on some shit i lived thru over a BRONZE FEET beat...

this is the direct link to the song titled FOAM OUT THE MOUTH.
http://www.reverbnation.com/therealp...ource=facebook

song is off of my siolo album titled THE SICKNESS

[Rob Swanson]

Originally Posted by JehovAllah

any who

lol

[JehovAllah]

ahahahahahaha

[rakimkoolgrapwutang]

good thing danny winters didnt have to endure the rough streets of detroit like tectrus raw did

[Mumm Ra]

Originally Posted by food for thought

I hope skampoe and mumm ra throw in a couple of stories of how they used to eat food allocated for the homeless.

that's about the extent of my story lmao
the chocolate cake was on point bro