2022: A New Mindset

Hello. My name is Alexis. I am not one to share much about myself, but I will. I am 23 years old and have two small children. Writing is not only a hobby for me but a passion for me as well. The last several years have been difficult for me in terms of financial stability and toxic relationships but that hasn’t stopped me from pushing myself to do better. Especially for the people surrounding me.

I was once homeless and strive every day to never be homeless again. I was homeless with my two children on my 22nd birthday. We lived in the Motel 6 located in Galveston, Texas. Their dad was there with us. He worked while I stayed in the hotel with the kids and our two dogs. Although he and I aren’t together and sometimes do not get along, we didn't give up on each other then and we still refuse to give up on one another. We stay strong for our children.

You may be wondering why I am telling you this. I am telling you this because this led me to the mindset I have now. We didn’t have much help while living in a hotel with our children. We had to rely on ourselves. Most homeless people are like that. They do not have anyone there to help them. Since those days, I have consistently helped the homeless in my community. I still struggle with bills but if I have the money to help, I do. I do it in front of my children even though they are both still little. I am trying to teach them to love and be kind no matter what situation they find themselves in.

My children are part of our future world. They will be the generation that takes over soon enough and although they won’t make a huge impact, they will still make a level of impact on our world, and I'd like it to be a positive one. They can’t make that impact now because they are a year old and almost 3 years old. My daughter turns three on Valentine’s Day. I have seen a lot of parents these days teaching their children to look down on the homeless because “they can get a job”. The truth is most of them cannot.

We live in such a judgmental world and most employers refuse to look at a homeless person as a prospective employee because they do not have a stable living situation. Many aren’t kind enough to help. The reason I am mentioning this is because I have a goal for 2022. My goal is to meet and help three homeless people more than I have helped previously. Hopefully I can help more. I want to help them clean themselves up and find jobs, so they can get back on their feet.

This is something I am passionate about. I have always been passionate about helping people but more so since I was homeless at one point myself. I also still plan to teach my children love and kindness because those are the types of humans I am raising and will be sending out into the world. I hope my children can impact more than three people a year but if they can only help one, I would still be a proud mother.

My goal is to get as many people off the street as possible. The streets are dangerous and being exposed to the elements is dangerous. The homeless are also more susceptible to becoming drug addicts which is something I struggled with in my teenage years so I would like to help prevent someone else from becoming addicted as well.

My goal is to open a shelter. My mom and I have talked about it and have tried to plan it but are unsure how our community would react. The shelter that I plan to open will have a phasing system. Phase one would be entering into the homeless shelter. This is where we help them clean up and get new clothing. Phase two would be preparing. We would help them write their resume and apply for jobs while also preparing them for their job interviews. Phase three would be saving money and financial advising so they do not find themselves in another bind. Phase four would be teaching them how to live a normal life. Once someone lives a certain way for a long period of time, it is hard for them to change their ways again. Stage five, the last stage, would be graduation from our program. We help them use the money they have saved to get an apartment, furnish that apartment, and put groceries in the home.

This is wishful thinking at this point, but it is a dream that I am working for and do hope to one day achieve.