In English class we learned such grammatical expressions as “first person singular” (I) and “first person plural” (we). This is the latest in a collection of posts called “First Person Homeless,” which covers autobiographical accounts by people who have experienced homelessness.
When veteran Glenn Higham of Longmont, Colorado, wrote a letter to the editor, he took the opportunity to thank convenience store workers for giving him hot water in the mornings, and employees of the public library for allowing him to use the computers to find job information and send and receive email. He reminded readers how difficult it is to carry everything you own along with you at all times, and admonished an anonymous housed person for making assumptions about how he lost his two front teeth. He also wrote:
I am a man trying to survive and find a job. I’ve been told many reasons why I do not qualify for housing and financial assistance: too young or old, not physical/mentally disabled, single, no kids, not an immigrant, and wasn’t in a wartime period.
Unfortunately, this situation is shared by many military veterans, even when the systems put in place to help them are in top-notch working order and not corrupted by uncaring and neglect.
Charley James wrote for the Daily Kos that in a year’s time, he had replied to over 300 employment ads and had sent out 200 resumes. The result? Five responses – a total of five phone calls – none of them leading to a job interview. He described the inability to afford prescription medication, the shame of dumpster-diving, and the disgrace of cheating the transit system of bus fare. He wrote,
During the eight months I have been homeless, I lined up for food only to learn that the charity had run out by the time I got inside. I stood patiently for hours when winter jackets and boots were being distributed to be told nothing in my size remained. I had my underwear stolen, my dignity assailed, my spirit beaten down. I experienced the agony of learning that people I thought were friends would turn their backs on me when I wasn’t any use to them anymore.
Less than two months ago, after the city of Chicago had spent nearly $50,000 building concrete barriers beneath a highway underpass to expunge people who had been sleeping there, local journalists discovered that the construction had created a truly dangerous situation and would need to be redone at additional cost. A woman who had called this place home published a letter to the neighborhood residents, reminding them of the difficulty of finding work when you have no way to keep your clothes or yourself clean, can’t afford transportation, and never get a proper night’s sleep. Teri Sanchez wrote:
Notice that when you do pass through that we try very hard to keep it as clean as we can; we usually don’t speak unless spoken to, and we never ask for anything… If anyone would just reach out and ask they would know that we are harmless and we are just as afraid as you are – remember we are there all night. We are alone, we are treated as if we are not human… I would like to tell anyone who is interested that we do not want to be there any more than you want us there.
For the Huffington Post, a woman named Vennie Hill reflected on the actions that seemingly led to her being homeless. The interesting part is, an awful lot of housed people have quit school too early, taken a drink, tried a drug they should have stayed away from, lost their virginity too young. Yet somehow, life and the Universe forgave them, and they were not cast out into the streets to struggle for survival, year after year.
Hill had too much humility to say this, but none of the things she mentioned were any worse than the things done by millions of people who, nevertheless, are lucky enough to live beneath roofs. She wrote:
I’ve made a lot of wrong choices in my life, but realizing that has helped me make better ones. So, if you happen to see me walking and talking to myself, remember that I’m not crazy; I’m just talking to God.
Reactions?
Source: “The homeless are many, diverse,” TimesCall.com, 02/08/12
Source: “Suddenly Homeless 37: Daring To Hope,” DailyKos.com, 11/15/12
Source: “Kedzie Underpass Homeless Woman Pens Online Letter to Avondale,” DNAinfo.com, 12/01/14
Source: “Why Am I Homeless?,” HuffingtonPost.com, 11/23/11
Image by gaspart64 (Gaspar Torres)
