Here's something you might be interested in.
It has been two months and a wakeup since I became homeless and moved into St. Vincents De Paul (St. V's) . I anticipated about a six week stay, but its just not happening like I thought it would. So to recap the past two months in the nicest form that I can, I would say that the first thing that I did after getting my bunk was to try and keep my bunk, by not getting kicked out for some infraction. Believe me there are a lot of rules and zero tolerance for way too many things and you are given this booklet to read, so you will know what to do. Such as, be in or at your bunk at 9:30 PM every night or lose your bunk. No food allowed, take a shower at least once a week whether you need one or not, and if you smell too bad the staff can force you to shower or leave (I saw this happen a couple of times). You are given a card to wear that you must wear at all times and it is rumored that the ID card is valued at 5.00 on the streets. I lost mine twice in the first week but was not given a point( demerit) even though I could have lost a point - oh yeah, you lose five points and lose your bunk, but the staff is pretty lenient about small things. For the most part they are pretty sympathetic and supportive to people that are trying to do something for themselves.
There are about 200 men on my floor and its divided in half, one side for the new-comers and the other side for the people that have been released from prison or in some type of recovery program. It is called the "Clean and Sober Side" with a zero tolerance for noise- but no drug and alcohol testing, whats up with that? It is said that the shelter gets a certain amount of money for each person and some people seem to think that the staff is only interested in keeping a body in a bunk and can care less about any one individual and there is always a person waiting to get a bunk.
While living there, I started taking walks around the area close to St. V's, where the people were sleeping on the sidewalk. Most of them have already been in St. V's, but once you are put out, you have to wait 30 days before you can go back in. I can honestly say that everyone has a story and all of them are sad, even though my story may not be the saddest, I think I have the most unique story. But now is not the time to go into my story, however I would like to mention a couple of people that I think are note-worthy and very special in there own way. When I was given chores which is basically 8 hours a week and usually two hours a day ( 3 no shows and you're kicked out). I landed a job in the kitchen and the first thing I did was take a lid off of a pot that was cooking on the stove. I was seen by a very tall black guy who said "you better not let( no names) see you do that. I quickly covered the pot and he told me all about the boss, while a couple of other guys just kind of shook there heads and agreed with him. Then all of a sudden I heard this huge and booming loud voice (that would make a drill sergeant proud) giving orders to everyone and everyone was jumping around and doing whatever. Now you gotta know, most of these guys have been to prison for any and everything and I do mean everything, but nobody was tripping.
Then I saw this six foot something white middle-aged female, bossing all these men and women around in a tone that would make Chef Ramsey, (Hell's Kitchen) look like a rudi-poot creme puff, only with out any profanity. I have met people like this in the past and usually when a person has a presence this large, they usually have a heart to match and tend to build walls to keep people at a distance so they will not get too emotional or too upset with anyone. In her case most people did not want her to get too upset because she has a secret that everybody knows at St.V's, that gives her an invisible crown that is respected by everyone that comes in contact with her, at least among the homeless or St. V's residents. If you don't believe me just ask any homeless person downtown about her. lets just say she is not to be messed with and that's all I got to say about that.
I had to meet with a counselor and get a T.B. test in 10 days or get kicked out. I also had to take classes in order to stay more than 90 days. So just to be on the safe side I took the CTC (Challenge To Change) course that lasted for two weeks and was two hours a day. The course was basically an esteem builder and gave you a better understanding of yourself, besides the fact that the instructor for the class missed his calling as a stand-up comedian. It was in this class that I met a woman that again I found very note-worthy . She is about 5'6" and a very slender latina that wore a lot of make-up and very revealing but tasteful clothing. She had a very artistic air about her and stated that she was actually an artist that was in some type of program sponsored by Father Joe's Village. She revealed during a class discussion that she has suffered with anxiety since she was sixteen ( what ever that is). The most interesting and amazing side of her story was that she had been taking martial arts since she was three years old and was actually a professional martial artist that actually fought in prize bouts in Las Vegas. Most of the people in the class gave her one of those (yeah-right) looks. Like the looks we give the homeless Viet Nam era vets that all claim that they used to be Navy Seals, Airborn Rangers, Commando's, Black Ops, Green Berets and the best of all "If I tell ya, i'll have to kill ya".
I must admit she was a bit of a drama queen but she stated that her last fight was with a guy named Sonny or Corey something or other, as if everybody in the room would know who she was talking about. I also noticed that she had large hands and wrist for her frame, but the most interesting thing about her and her story to me especially since i,m not a native Californian was the fact that she used to be a man.
Being homeless is a very grueling, sad and tiresome ordeal for most and even worse for others. The numbers are growing daily from all walks of life, ( thanks to W.) and I candy coated a few lines about people and situations that showed another side of what can be construed as a very dark and painful time in my life.
I would like to thank Father Joe, and the staff at St Vincent De Paul for being there for people like myself and thousands of others that have slipped and fell for what ever reason and the people of San Diego that support these types of programs.
It has been two months and a wakeup since I became homeless and moved into St. Vincents De Paul (St. V's) . I anticipated about a six week stay, but its just not happening like I thought it would. So to recap the past two months in the nicest form that I can, I would say that the first thing that I did after getting my bunk was to try and keep my bunk, by not getting kicked out for some infraction. Believe me there are a lot of rules and zero tolerance for way too many things and you are given this booklet to read, so you will know what to do. Such as, be in or at your bunk at 9:30 PM every night or lose your bunk. No food allowed, take a shower at least once a week whether you need one or not, and if you smell too bad the staff can force you to shower or leave (I saw this happen a couple of times). You are given a card to wear that you must wear at all times and it is rumored that the ID card is valued at 5.00 on the streets. I lost mine twice in the first week but was not given a point( demerit) even though I could have lost a point - oh yeah, you lose five points and lose your bunk, but the staff is pretty lenient about small things. For the most part they are pretty sympathetic and supportive to people that are trying to do something for themselves.
There are about 200 men on my floor and its divided in half, one side for the new-comers and the other side for the people that have been released from prison or in some type of recovery program. It is called the "Clean and Sober Side" with a zero tolerance for noise- but no drug and alcohol testing, whats up with that? It is said that the shelter gets a certain amount of money for each person and some people seem to think that the staff is only interested in keeping a body in a bunk and can care less about any one individual and there is always a person waiting to get a bunk.
While living there, I started taking walks around the area close to St. V's, where the people were sleeping on the sidewalk. Most of them have already been in St. V's, but once you are put out, you have to wait 30 days before you can go back in. I can honestly say that everyone has a story and all of them are sad, even though my story may not be the saddest, I think I have the most unique story. But now is not the time to go into my story, however I would like to mention a couple of people that I think are note-worthy and very special in there own way. When I was given chores which is basically 8 hours a week and usually two hours a day ( 3 no shows and you're kicked out). I landed a job in the kitchen and the first thing I did was take a lid off of a pot that was cooking on the stove. I was seen by a very tall black guy who said "you better not let( no names) see you do that. I quickly covered the pot and he told me all about the boss, while a couple of other guys just kind of shook there heads and agreed with him. Then all of a sudden I heard this huge and booming loud voice (that would make a drill sergeant proud) giving orders to everyone and everyone was jumping around and doing whatever. Now you gotta know, most of these guys have been to prison for any and everything and I do mean everything, but nobody was tripping.
Then I saw this six foot something white middle-aged female, bossing all these men and women around in a tone that would make Chef Ramsey, (Hell's Kitchen) look like a rudi-poot creme puff, only with out any profanity. I have met people like this in the past and usually when a person has a presence this large, they usually have a heart to match and tend to build walls to keep people at a distance so they will not get too emotional or too upset with anyone. In her case most people did not want her to get too upset because she has a secret that everybody knows at St.V's, that gives her an invisible crown that is respected by everyone that comes in contact with her, at least among the homeless or St. V's residents. If you don't believe me just ask any homeless person downtown about her. lets just say she is not to be messed with and that's all I got to say about that.
I had to meet with a counselor and get a T.B. test in 10 days or get kicked out. I also had to take classes in order to stay more than 90 days. So just to be on the safe side I took the CTC (Challenge To Change) course that lasted for two weeks and was two hours a day. The course was basically an esteem builder and gave you a better understanding of yourself, besides the fact that the instructor for the class missed his calling as a stand-up comedian. It was in this class that I met a woman that again I found very note-worthy . She is about 5'6" and a very slender latina that wore a lot of make-up and very revealing but tasteful clothing. She had a very artistic air about her and stated that she was actually an artist that was in some type of program sponsored by Father Joe's Village. She revealed during a class discussion that she has suffered with anxiety since she was sixteen ( what ever that is). The most interesting and amazing side of her story was that she had been taking martial arts since she was three years old and was actually a professional martial artist that actually fought in prize bouts in Las Vegas. Most of the people in the class gave her one of those (yeah-right) looks. Like the looks we give the homeless Viet Nam era vets that all claim that they used to be Navy Seals, Airborn Rangers, Commando's, Black Ops, Green Berets and the best of all "If I tell ya, i'll have to kill ya".
I must admit she was a bit of a drama queen but she stated that her last fight was with a guy named Sonny or Corey something or other, as if everybody in the room would know who she was talking about. I also noticed that she had large hands and wrist for her frame, but the most interesting thing about her and her story to me especially since i,m not a native Californian was the fact that she used to be a man.
Being homeless is a very grueling, sad and tiresome ordeal for most and even worse for others. The numbers are growing daily from all walks of life, ( thanks to W.) and I candy coated a few lines about people and situations that showed another side of what can be construed as a very dark and painful time in my life.
I would like to thank Father Joe, and the staff at St Vincent De Paul for being there for people like myself and thousands of others that have slipped and fell for what ever reason and the people of San Diego that support these types of programs.