sunniejones

🔥🔥❤👙❤🔥🔥😍🍑😍🤘🏼🤘🏼

guuuuuurl

I lived in a homeless shelter for a bit because of my mental illness struggles and we got slivers of soap, but no deodorant because logistically that's super difficult to do, so it's nice to see that's on your list of things you were and maybe still are collecting. There's the dehumanization of the homeless, you're right and it's probably because most people don't want to deal with the fact that the homeless are real people also nor that they, too could end up in a similar position. It is really rough to be homeless in ways most people would never even think, like someone can get food stamps or fresh food vouchers relatively easily, but they won't have a fridge to store food, nor a way to cook it and most likely no easy way to get to the grocery store. People judge you and complain about your dirty clothes when you have no easy way to wash them and lice and bedbugs are commonplace. People steal from you all the time in shelters, you can't take all your stuff into the shower at one, if they even have one, and others there are desperate. You have no "you time" and it's surprisingly loud in the shelters, even overnight because many talk and more people than you think snore, even in winter it can get boiling hot AND then you're sweating the next day as you are released back into the cold for the day. You never know when people will snap on you for whatever and many have nothing left to lose. They are always in at least shady, if not downright dangerous places of town. There are programs to help, yes, but not the educational infrastructure to connect people and benefits, more severely hurting the men than the women because even in today's society, where I'd like to believe we are at least inching toward real equality, people still, in general would rather help a woman in need than a man. I am not trying to make some grandiose statement on equality, I am just stating the facts from my experience and statistics, women will get help first and much more of it, life is very unfair to women, but they do have this. There are many women only shelters and in the ones I stayed in, the women got to stay there all day and night while the men were turned loose during the day into the cold. I do know it is mostly because the children, if there are any, have greater needs than us men and they stay in the women's area and also that to avoid the calls of unfairness, all women got to stay all day. I guess I went off into a huge tangent, my point is, good for you, @sunniejones and I'll thank you because I couldn't thank those that helped me, even if it seems small, the littlest kindness go the furthest

Had to watch this twice… 2nd time after wiping the tears of joy from my eyes. I became homeless in 2017 when the house I was renting was set ablaze by the landlord’s shoddy repairs while flipping from coal fired heat and hot water to all gas. Suffered my 1st heart attack right there on the front lawn arguing with the City inspector about trying to pull my property still salvageable out through the windows. I lost everything. Bummed around the mid Atlantic states in and out of shelters - most only allowed 30 day temporary residency - or in the woods. Several heart attacks later - 2 fatal - and a 38 day Covid ICU stint I finally landed in a great shelter in Delaware. No 30 day limit. I wrote in my journal that I wanted to become a productive citizen again and not a financial or medical burden to society. And within what is my now 101 day residency I’m the house Team Leader and responsible for the immediate needs of those guys coming in like me with only the clothes on their back. I help organize and distribute donations, and have taken a few turns at preparing the daily “family” dinner meal for 10-12 other guys. I was a certified chef at another men’s shelter in Baltimore decades ago. So… may you also be continually blessed by your desire to give back.