yes, virginia, homeless shelter living sucks. w/poll & links!

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Tuesday July 20, 2010 · 12:11 PM PDT

2010/07/20 · 12:11

Several months ago I became part of the website, 'Six Word Memoir'. It was about two weeks after I moved into my local homeless women's shelter. What follows was my first 'six word memoir'.

homeless shelter living,
it's killing me.

I found the excercise of saying what I needed/wanted to say in exactly six words...
no more, no less....endlessly fascinating.
I hope you will check out the site. Link is included at the end of this diary.

So, anyway....I have written my diary in 'six word memoir' style.
(each 'sentence'/line = six words)

Poll

24 votes Show Results

The 'nugget of info' that I found in this 'six word memoir' that surprises me the most is...

'residents' often turn on each other.

staff that is supposed to be advocates can be outrageously bitter and cruel.

it would be considered a special treat to get nutritious sald/fruit/vegetables with 1 meal a day.

some employers become embarrassed and 'distracted' by an employee that has found him/herself homeless.

shelter 'residents' are often locked out during the day, that's why they wander the streets if they are jobless, or wander the streets on their days off.

for someone who has a job, it is extremely hard to hold on to said job, simply because of all that goes with being homeless

homeless people that you see asleep or dozing on the bus or on a park bench aren't necessarily lazy, just sleep deprived and so dang tired out.

people in a shelter who are even just moderately light sleepers usually get no more than 3-4 hours sleep per night, if that, because of noise/ activity.

homeless persons get so used to experiencing emotional cruelty, that when shown kindness, oftentimes, they'll burst into tears.

I am homeless....I know all these things.

PIE!...let them eat pie (blueberry is my personal favorite)

24 votes Vote Now!

The 'nugget of info' that I found in this 'six word memoir' that surprises me the most is...

'residents' often turn on each other.

5 votes

staff that is supposed to be advocates can be outrageously bitter and cruel.

9 votes

it would be considered a special treat to get nutritious sald/fruit/vegetables with 1 meal a day.

1 vote

some employers become embarrassed and 'distracted' by an employee that has found him/herself homeless.

1 vote

shelter 'residents' are often locked out during the day, that's why they wander the streets if they are jobless, or wander the streets on their days off.

0 votes

for someone who has a job, it is extremely hard to hold on to said job, simply because of all that goes with being homeless

1 vote

homeless people that you see asleep or dozing on the bus or on a park bench aren't necessarily lazy, just sleep deprived and so dang tired out.

0 votes

people in a shelter who are even just moderately light sleepers usually get no more than 3-4 hours sleep per night, if that, because of noise/ activity.

0 votes

homeless persons get so used to experiencing emotional cruelty, that when shown kindness, oftentimes, they'll burst into tears.

2 votes

I am homeless....I know all these things.

3 votes

PIE!...let them eat pie (blueberry is my personal favorite)

2 votes

while my computer crashed...

TULIPS4DOLPHINS

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday March 11, 2010 · 1:11 PM PST

2010/03/11 · 13:11

Hey kids! Wow I've been gone about three weeks due to a total meltdown of my computer. ( it was a laptop, and my only computer) After the IT guy worked on it for awhile, it finally went to computer heaven.
My link to you and just about everyone/everything just palunked/exploded/imploded/big big bang!

And I gotta tell you, a whole new veeeEEErrrry interesting 'me' appeared!
So let me tell you all about it....

TULIPS4DOLPHINS

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday September 12, 2009 · 4:36 PM PDT

2009/09/12 · 16:36

I am the perfect storm of Reagonomics, Bush's War of Choice, the Insurance Industry and Wall Street's Greed. I am the poster child for the need for decent health care options in whatever words the politicians want to label it. (albiet a mature 'poster child'; I turn 56, later this month) I had a 401k which like so many others was hit hard and reduced to a mere pittance.

I am not yet homeless, but I know I will be living at the local Women's Shelter by then end of this month. The silver lining is that I have some time to prepare for it. In that I am lucky. I use the term homeless because while I will have a bed at night, I will not have an address. I will need to pack my belongings every day because I must leave after my morning shower and am not allowed to return till 5pm. Those are the rules as I understand them so far. When I called the shelter to ask some questions they were very kind and gentle with me. They told me that there were other women there in similar situations. They calmed my fears.

Poll

100 votes Show Results

Do you know someone that has recently moved into a Homeless Shelter or became homeless under similar circumstances?

100 votes Vote Now!

Do you know someone that has recently moved into a Homeless Shelter or became homeless under similar circumstances?

Yes

40 votes

60 votes

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yes, virginia, homeless shelter living sucks. w/poll & links!

while my computer crashed...

Saving Myself by Embracing My Own 'Perfect Storm'