Homeless and Beyond

In 2010, I lost my job and my apartment. Before, when life went wrong, my family helped out, this time however I was on my own at forty-nine years old. So, I packed my car and drove to a women’s shelter. There, I was given a bed and three meals-a-day. With no rent or utilities to pay, no food or clothes to buy, it quickly became a hard habit to break called Complacency… when doing nothing all day is okay and the desire to work fades! The first week I stayed close to the shelter, mostly from shock and the uncertainty of my situation. Never before had I felt truly alone. Never before had I felt unwanted or unloved. Never before had I felt so unprotected. Off and on for the next eight years, I was homeless, staying on a person’s couch for a time was still considered homeless because it wasn’t permanent.

After the first week on the shelter property, I had to get away if only for a few hours, so I went to a public library branch about four blocks away, a short trip in my car. Initially I went there to play games, then to look for work. I expected to be hired immediately with ten plus years’ experience in the Food Industry— I was highly surprised when I wasn’t! Clearly, I needed help. A supervisor from one temporary job upgraded my resume, which made it look more professional. I also got business casual clothing from clothing closets at several churches to wear to interviews. I began to earnestly look for work. It is a long, hard, and frustrating process especially when trying to get work outside of former experiences like the Food/Hospitality industry. I quickly learned to think backwards while filling out applications, in order to list my last job first and so on. While employed at a number of short-term/temporary jobs, some that lasted only a week and another one that lasted a month, I learned about the free training classes offered by Goodwill®. So, I registered and decided to take every free training class offered until I got a job! My first class, Janitor/Housekeeping, took a month, barely a week afterwards I was hired at a housekeeping company that was subcontracted by Vanderbilt Medical Center and Hospital.

I started working third shift (6pm – 2am). At first when I still had my car, the commute took only a half an hour both ways. Returning to the shelter, I would show my work pass to gain entry, get a towel for a shower, then make my bed and sleep until wake-up at 5:30am, which amounted to about 2 ½ hour sleep. Upon rising I would dress, go outside and sleep in my car until about 10am when I would drive off property to the Nashville Farmers Market to buy lunch and dinner before returning to the shelter to get ready to go to work once more. After my car was destroyed in an accident in 2011, I had to leave the shelter at 4pm (missing supper) in order to arrive at work by 5:30pm. If I had enough money, I would buy a sandwich and drink from the bus terminal café, if not, I would buy some junk food – after all any food is better than no food! After work I either caught a ride with a co-worker back to the shelter or stayed in the lobby of Vanderbilt Hospital until the buses started running at 5:30am. I worked for that company for three years, during which, with the help of my church I was able to get an apartment.

Earlier I stated that for off and on, I was homeless for eight years, that is because I seem to make the wrong decisions while employed that eventually result in me being let go/downsized, becoming homeless again and once again starting from scratch. For once luck was on my side, while at the shelter for the final time, I worked at Gaylord Opryland Hotel for three years before finally getting the apartment I have now! With the help of a disability check, I no longer need to worry about paying rent, buying food, or getting around. Thanks to God I am finally home!

The End.