At the shelter there are only women. I went there on and off for about 6 years. Every day was a new day. There was no getting used to a shelter but it was better than being on the streets. For instance, if I had been out on the streets for a while and then had gone inside, I would feel so good that I would roll myself up into a ball and stared. The staff would be so afraid and happy at the same time that the paramedics, it seemed, would always be nearby. This was also strange.
There would be some arguing but never any real fights. I guess that the shelter was so good to some that they would stay for years on end and not leave. Some women had been there for 16 years. Maybe they had problems. At night there would be a meal for the women, prepared for them by student cooks in the program for the disadvantaged and some were homeless.
The homeless would pack the shelter to the rafters each and every night. The downside is that people who are influential and who are somebody would say ‘have you been to the shelter?’ trying to be unnoticeable to you. If you had there ‘you will have to wait and burden yourself with hard work just to get a job!’
A place to stay was easier. And so was getting food or healthcare and medicine. Seeing your own friends was hard. Every day you would hope to survive. Hoping you wouldn’t get caught by anyone, good or bad. So you were treated like a bad person by the law. This is great news because you can do so much with it. They bend over backward to give you everything including some small and large jobs. The women would contest over jobs.
You’ve got to try to appreciate the system. It is so hard because it is run by women like yourself who really know how to help you. The other women would talk and laugh about you. I never noticed it too much. The doctor had taken it down a few pegs. But that’s the way it goes when you have people who don’t really like you. How do you battle it, being talked about? By praying to others and not by using drugs or doing crime. Being talked about is just as bad as homelessness. But you can beat it by staying near those who love you.
