Tuesday, December 4, 2007

I never thought this could happen to me

For years I used to wonder about the homeless people you see around town. How could people wind up sleeping in a doorway. I used to dismiss them as perhaps lazy, alcoholic or having severe mental problems. I would give spare change when I could and then forget about them. There is one woman who has slept at the Harvard Coop for 20 years and then stands in front of the store all day. Sad really. Yet last summer I wound up sleeping next to her. How on earth did this happen??????

I am 57 and have lived in the Boston area most of my life. I have a BS from a well known Boston college and until 3 years ago worked hard in my chosen field. I was married, had a wonderful son, a condo in a nice suburb and had no real complaints in life. My marriage however suffered from working nights which in my line of work was the norm. We never divorced and are still close friends and good parents to my son who will be 16 next month.

The company I worked for was taken over by another outlet and we were all let go 3 years ago. It isn't easy trying to start over at 54 but I kept plugging away. Then I got sick.......

The last 3 years have been a nightmare as I have been inpatient more times than I can count. I keep getting infections that when they occur I have to be on IV treatments for 10 days. I just got out of Norwood Hospital last week after spending 2 weeks there. Because of this I can no longer work and have to be on Social Security Disabilty. The only good thing about that is that I am now on Medicare and my medical bills are covered and prescriptions are a small co-pay. Still the government does not give you very much. In my case it is under $900 a month and $73 in food stamps. The harsh reality is it is next to impossible to find even a room in the Boston area for that plus I am paying child support. I was living with a realtive in Newton until last May but she passed away and suddenly I had no place to go.

Now you might be saying why don't I go to service agencies for help? Well answer is that I spend most of my days doing just that but they are overwhelmed. I am on housing lists statewide but it can take up to FIVE YEARS to get placed. The goal is to get on subsidized housing where I would pay 30% of my income. I am working with an agency in Cambridge called Homestart and they are wonderful but it is a numbers game.

What about homeless shelters? That is what I am doing now and it is not fun. The dry shelters that take people in fulltime are all full and with freezing weather nobody is going to leave. I am waiting on shelters in Somerville, Waltham and Cambridge calling every morning but nothing yet. Right now I am in a shelter run by Harvard students but you can only stay 14 nights at a time and then wait a week to try and get back in. You can try to call them at 9:30 PM to see if they have a 1 night bed but if they don't one is faced with the Boston shelter system which is horrfic. One morning I woke up and someone had stolen my sneakers. That is a big reason you see people sleeping in doorways and ATM's in December as people are afraid to go to the 'wet' shelters where many of the clients are drunk or on drugs. It is brutal.

I only have one blood relative now, my nephew who lives on the Cape with his wife and 2 wonderful children. They worry about me but they have their own problems as he is in the mortgage business which is a nightmare these days.

Why the blog? I will be frank...I need help to do something for my son at Christmas.

He is a sophmore in high school and he needs a laptop badly for school. To compound the problem his Mom was laid off from her job in the computer industry and she is working now at a Dunkin Donuts just to pay the mortgage. They live in a nice middle class suburb but right now it is a struggle. Since I am getting fed most nights at the shelter I let her use my food stamps ( which isn't much ) Right now I am powerless to do much except lend moral support. I do what I can, for example I rented a car Saturday so we could go to Foxboro and cheer on his high school football team in the Super Bowl ( they won!!!) and it was money well spent as it is a lifetime memory for him (and me). Still it was money I really did not have.

I saw the perfect laptop yesterday at Staples that costs $599. I really want to get it for him.

I have never been a person who would hold out a coffee cup on the street begging for help. My needs are small these days, coffee in the morning, the Globe ( and hope somebody at Starbucks throws out the Times ). I am not going to chase a miracle and blow money on lottery tickets either. So here is the deal.

I have had an account with Pay Pal when I used to use Ebay. I have the put a link to my account on the upper right of the blog. Right now I have a whopping 23 cents in the account. Perhaps over the next 3 weeks some readers may decide to make a donation. In return I will blog about my days on the streets and the people I have come to know. If I can show a side of the homeless that people don't know then that alone is worth it. I am lucky that I can use a friends computer during the day.

The one thing I want to avoid is being 'outed' in the blogger world. NOT because I care if anybody knows my situation but to protect my son. If his classmates found out they might tease him as that is what kids do.

I hope I can make this an interesting read. May you all have Happy Holidays

Thank you for reading.

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

How is your nephew your only blood relative if you are paying child support?

On The Street said...

Anonymous said...
How is your nephew your only blood relative if you are paying child support?

Well outside of my son.
My brother died in 1975.

Anonymous said...

I posted this in reply to your LiveJournal post, but in case you didn't see it, I would be glad to meet you at Au Bon Pain when you're there and give you a cash donation toward the laptop (I don't like Paypal). I have little to offer, since I'm between jobs myself, but I can contribute $25 cash. What times will you be there this week, and how can I recognize you?

Plumtreeblossom (Mare)

Anonymous said...

I have contributed $5. Good luck to you and your son and I hope you find some luck in the near future.

Anonymous said...

perhaps, for now, you and your wife could live under the same roof again? if she's struggling to pay the bills, you need a place to stay, and you said you get along fine... looks like you could help each other out?

best of luck...

Anonymous said...

I look forward to read your continued posts. This is a topic that is often overlooked, and I think your idea to blog about it is a really great way to educate people. I'm going to make a donation too. I can hardly imagine how brutal it is out in the streets at night right now. Keeping you and your family in my prayers...

Anonymous said...

I hope you the best of luck. I've spent my time on the streets and I know the trials you are experiencing. Your son is lucky to have a father as loving as you.

Anonymous said...

i don't believe you. there i said it.

Anonymous said...

cambridgestreets.blogspot.com is very informative. The article is very professionally written. I enjoy reading cambridgestreets.blogspot.com every day.
ontario payday loan
canada payday loans

Anonymous said...

Good day !.
might , probably curious to know how one can manage to receive high yields .
There is no need to invest much at first. You may commense to receive yields with as small sum of money as 20-100 dollars.

AimTrust is what you haven`t ever dreamt of such a chance to become rich
The firm represents an offshore structure with advanced asset management technologies in production and delivery of pipes for oil and gas.

Its head office is in Panama with structures around the world.
Do you want to become really rich in short time?
That`s your chance That`s what you wish in the long run!

I feel good, I started to get real money with the help of this company,
and I invite you to do the same. It`s all about how to select a proper companion utilizes your funds in a right way - that`s the AimTrust!.
I make 2G daily, and my first deposit was 1 grand only!
It`s easy to get involved , just click this link http://tosylogowi.bigheadhosting.net/ohujys.html
and go! Let`s take this option together to get rid of nastiness of the life

Anonymous said...

Good day !.
might , perhaps very interested to know how one can make real money .
There is no need to invest much at first. You may begin to receive yields with as small sum of money as 20-100 dollars.

AimTrust is what you haven`t ever dreamt of such a chance to become rich
AimTrust incorporates an offshore structure with advanced asset management technologies in production and delivery of pipes for oil and gas.

It is based in Panama with structures everywhere: In USA, Canada, Cyprus.
Do you want to become an affluent person?
That`s your choice That`s what you wish in the long run!

I feel good, I started to get real money with the help of this company,
and I invite you to do the same. If it gets down to choose a proper partner who uses your savings in a right way - that`s it!.
I take now up to 2G every day, and what I started with was a funny sum of 500 bucks!
It`s easy to get involved , just click this link http://ityxyneser.kogaryu.com/otufahut.html
and lucky you`re! Let`s take this option together to become rich

Anonymous said...

Hello!
You may probably be very curious to know how one can make real money on investments.
There is no initial capital needed.
You may commense to get income with a money that usually is spent
for daily food, that's 20-100 dollars.
I have been participating in one company's work for several years,
and I'm ready to let you know my secrets at my blog.

Please visit blog and send me private message to get the info.

P.S. I earn 1000-2000 per day now.

http://theblogmoney.com

Anonymous said...

Good day, sun shines!
There have been times of troubles when I felt unhappy missing knowledge about opportunities of getting high yields on investments. I was a dump and downright pessimistic person.
I have never thought that there weren't any need in big starting capital.
Now, I'm happy and lucky , I started to get real money.
It's all about how to choose a proper partner who uses your money in a right way - that is incorporate it in real deals, and shares the profit with me.

You can ask, if there are such firms? I'm obliged to answer the truth, YES, there are. Please get to know about one of them:
[url=http://theblogmoney.com] Online investment blog[/url]

Anonymous said...

Hi there!
I would like to burn a theme at this forum. There is such a thing, called HYIP, or High Yield Investment Program. It reminds of financial piramyde, but in rare cases one may happen to meet a company that really pays up to 2% daily not on invested money, but from real profits.

For quite a long time, I earn money with the help of these programs.
I'm with no money problems now, but there are heights that must be conquered . I get now up to 2G a day , and my first investment was 500 dollars only.
Right now, I managed to catch a guaranteed variant to make a sharp rise . Turn to my web site to get additional info.

http://theinvestblog.com [url=http://theinvestblog.com]Online Investment Blog[/url]

Anonymous said...

I`d love to!
---------------------------------------------------------
Signature:buy levitra professional online gwu

Anonymous said...

good morning ppl. I'm really into shoes and I was searching for that singular make. The prices for the sneakers were around 350 dollars on every site. But definitively I base this location selling them for the benefit of half price. I exceptionally want those [url=http://www.shoesempire.com]prada sneakers[/url]. I will definetly order those. what do you think?

Anonymous said...

By the way...
---------------------------------------------------------
Signature:lipitor 10mg yrvfz
generic lexapro zohdr

Anonymous said...

Hello. And Bye.

Anonymous said...

Hi everybody!

For sure you didn’t here about me yet,
my name is Nikolas.
Generally I’m a venturesome gambler. for a long time I’m keen on online-casino and poker.
Not long time ago I started my own blog, where I describe my virtual adventures.
Probably, it will be interesting for you to read my notes.
Please visit my diary. http://allbestcasino.com I’ll be interested on your opinion..

Anonymous said...

good morning people. I'm actually into shoes and I was searching for the sake of that singular make. The prices as regards the sneakers are around 320 pounds everwhere. But for all I found this locate selling them for the benefit of half price. I really love those [url=http://www.shoesempire.com]gucci sneakers[/url]. I will probably order those. what do you think?

Anonymous said...

good day dudes. I'm honestly into shoes and I have been digging allowing for regarding that singular model. The prices for the velcros were about 250 pounds on every site. But for all I found this site selling them someone is concerned half price. I in reality like those [url=http://www.shoesempire.com]gucci sneakers[/url]. I will absolutely purchase those. what can you tell me about these?

Anonymous said...

hi there dudes. I'm actually into shoes and I have been digging for that exact model. The prices seeking the shoes are all over 310 pounds everwhere. But definitively I base this site selling them for the benefit of half price. I absolutely like these [url=http://www.shoesempire.com]gucci sneakers[/url]. I will definetly order them. what do you think?

Anonymous said...

Approvingly your article helped me terribly much in my college assignment. Hats off to you enter, choice look audacious for more interdependent articles without delay as its sole of my favourite issue to read.

No Deposit Bonus said...

I would watch your on the streets of cambridge blog it has a beautiful scenery I like your blog for your very informative I never thought this could happen to me post.
--------------------------
Link to my site: No Deposit Poker Bonuses