EB Homelessness

Émilie B

Busy, crammed days; fearful, frosty nights. Days, weeks, months... It all just blurs together for me.

Have you ever felt that bitter, November wind, biting at your cheeks as you watched your breath fog in front of your eyes? Remember that feeling of warmth, of safety, when you walked out of the cruel cold into a heated room? Now take that cherished feeling away.

That’s how it feels to be homeless.

I know, because I am.

Four years ago, at the age of twenty-five, one stupid choice led me to join the ranks of those who were evicted or kicked out of their homes, those who are unable to find a job or home themselves, and those who, no matter how hard they work, can never make enough to get off of the streets. I fall into the latter category. One poor decision was all it took for me to lose everything.

I have two part-time jobs that take up the dawn, sunlight and dusk portions of each day. When the shift of my second job ends, a clerk at a twenty-four hour convenience store, I pull off the key that hangs low on my neck to unlock the door of my five-year-old van, and drive to the fast-food restaurant part way across town, both my first job and my main source of food.

At this point of my life, my van is my home. I intend to accomplish much more in life.

A Few Suggestions For Future Employers:

• Do not eliminate if the permanent address portion is not filled in.
• Be willing to provide training workshops.
• Perhaps you and other companies could set up a mutual “work bus”, one that would provide transportation between shelters and the workplace.
• Do not discriminate between race, age and gender.
• Provide the option to be paid daily in cash.

By providing us with the opportunity to add experience to our résumés, hopefully employers can overlook our homelessness and see us as contributing and valuable members of society.