Ending Homelessness One Family At A Time: Fill & Download for Free

Some are unable to control their rage and end up in jail or picking fights with the wrong people, or die young from misadventure.Some self-medicate and never learn how to achieve contentment.For some, they never learn how to love others properly and move from situation to situation without stability.This happened in my family. There are three of us.My sister went straight to alcohol in her mid teens and hasn't stopped.My brother, who is deaf in one ear as a result of our mother’s violence, went to sleep except when he was in school. He focussed on his academics only and has no memories of his childhood unless I prompt him about things he and I did together. When our parents intended to visit with him as an adult, he would go to bed for three days before and after and didn't know why. His social growth stopped at around age ten. As an adult, he is occasionally homeless, reclusive, and doesn’t really fit anywhere. He went 15 years at a time not seeing the parents. He didn’t notice.I fought the violence every step of the way. I left home at 14 and lived with other families. But I was a mess. I woke up angry every day. I was in simmering rage. Psychiatry is covered under my province’s healthcare, so I got help when I was in my twenties. I'm so glad I did.I am mentally healthy and have been for decades. I love my life. I've had work I loved and a good spouse and a garden and cats. But I've had no children on purpose so that the chain of violence ends with me.If you are living that awful life and need more suggestions on how to get out, let me know.

The ethical reason: It’s the right thing to do.The religious reason: Your sacred book says you’re supposed to help the poor. (Seriously, check it. I don’t even have to know which religion you are, it’s in every darn one of the internationally recognized religions.)The financial reason: It’s less expensive than paying for homelessnessIt's Actually Cheaper To House The Homeless Than To Leave Them On The StreetsReport: Housing the Homeless Gets Cheaper Every YearProviding housing for homeless is cheaper and better for societyThe cheapest way to end homelessness is ridiculously simple, according to the largest-ever US studyThe shockingly simple, surprisingly cost-effective way to end homelessnessGiving housing to the homeless is three times cheaper than leaving them on the streetsThe safety reasons: 1) It reduces crimes committed AGAINST homeless people. 2) It reduces crimes committed BY extremely desperate and bone-crushingly poor (homeless) people. 3) It allows the police to focus on addressing actual crimes.Another safety reason: It protects Children and gives them hopeNational Center on Family HomelessnessOne in Five Homeless Youth Trafficked, New Research RevealsNew Study Shows Homeless Youth Targets For Sex TraffickersStudy: Sex traffickers target homeless, runaway teens in ArizonaExperts say human traffickers target teens, homeless | Jax Daily Record | Financial News & Daily Record - Jacksonville, FloridaThe medical reason: It prevents plague outbreaksSan Diego Washing Streets With Bleach To Combat Hepatitis A OutbreakThe offensively selfish reason: You don’t have to look at them anymoreDid I miss any categories?

What did I do to survive when I was homeless. Well allow me to first say what I didn’t do. I DID NOT Sell my body or sexual favors, sell anything illegal such as drugs or guns, steal from stores or homes, beg on the street corners or off ramps or anywhere for that matter.What I did do to survive was dumpster dive! My son’s father and I would drive to the industrial parks and business complexes around 11pm one of us would go look in dumpsters for recyclables while the other would stay in the car with our child (he was always snuggled up asleep in the back). Then we would drive to another area and the other would go dumpster diving and the other would stay with our son. We would typically do this until 1 or 2 am then we would find a tucked away spot and sleep until 6 or 7 am. We then would go to our storage unit break down any medals that needed breaking down and then recycle. We would make anywhere from $0 to $20.00 a day and on a rare occasion maybe $50.00. This would be barely enough to put food in our stomachs and gas in the car.After doing this for sometime we started noticing something that was very heart breaking but a reality. We would at least once a week find in dumpsters what I came to term “someone's life”. Not their body but rather all of their worldly possessions! All of their family heirlooms, pictures, keepsakes, things that they had put all of their blood sweat and tears into I would find thrown into a dumpster. Many of these people had died and I know this because usually their documents were with all their belongings in the dumpster. We would find jewelry, collectables, money, you name it we probably have found it. At first I was heartbroken to see this so much, to see that no one cared enough to even donate these things but instead they just tossed it into a plastic bag and then into the trash. Plus didn’t any of these people have family didn’t anyone care? So with sadness but with the strong innate need to feed, shelter, and care for my child we would gather up what we could and go sell these items at a swap meet. This really took a toll on me and it made me think is this going to happen to me when I die and doing this for almost year nearly broke me (though we were able to get hotel rooms, eat better, and start to catch up financially). But then one day it dawned on me, “it’s not what we have in life, it’s how we live in life”. And that is what we take with us when we die! Once I realized this everything began to change for the better.Then after about another year and a half we were finally able to get an apartment. This was mainly through hard work, perseverance, and yes the federal government. Which by the way I am very grateful for our government their not perfect but they are a damn site better than most other governments around the world. And they are a hell of a lot better the many of the non profits that take the grant monies that are allocated to them by the feds and use it for god knows what because it is barely used to help the homeless. But that's for another discussion!So the next time you see someone dumpster diving don’t get angry or call the police or put them down. Rather give them recyclables or give them a reassuring smile. Because look at it this way would you rather they robbed your home or your place of business, beg or push at you to give them money, or sell drugs to your kids!