fight [my] homelessness

As several of you know, I’ve been going through a rough patch in my life. At first faced with the concept of being homeless in December, it quickly turned “homeless in October and car repossessed any time between now and then.” Many of my friends, and key members of my family, were generous enough to offer what help they could, and for that, I am deeply thankful. I am also deeply thankful for the words of support offered to me – as my own harshest critic, even a “hang in there!” helps offset the burden of guilt I have placed on myself for not, somehow, seeing this situation coming … and by that logic, failing myself and my family.

I will share that my financial troubles have placed me back to a place I haven’t visited since the first time I was homeless (yeah, seriously): panhandling. Each evening or weekend that I am not otherwise occupied (with school, work, commuting, or watching my kids), I stand out by a stop light and hold a sign:



This is more successful at some times than it is at others, but as my current position pays minimum wage, it is always more financially successful than working my job. Is it enough to pay my bills? No. It's enough to gas me to school and back, to gas R to school and back, and to continue us on our quest for an education that will finally earn our family the financial stability we crave. A friend suggested that I create a PayPal button, and though asking for Internet handouts (or e-panhandling) is not something that I ever thought I would find myself doing, I have had to come to the conclusion that my pride is not worth putting my family's future in jeopardy - something that should be obvious, but hey, pride is a tricky thing.

So for those who stumble upon this by one means or another, I ask that you consider donating to my informally-dubbed nonprofit, Fight [my] Homelessness.