December 17, 2016
Imagine yourself as a 19 year old, homeless. 19, being an age where it was only a year after you graduated high school and were going to go to college or university. Imagine yourself, walking down streets, getting looks from strangers that think you’re trouble, so they divert their gaze away. Ever since I was 16, my father passed away due to stage 3 cancer, my mother stopped working for a bit so we were struggling to feed ourselves. My mother was starting to get sick because she refused to eat. Everyday she apologized for not taking care of me. But by the time I tried to earn a little money she got very sick and we couldn’t pay the hospital fees so I tried to get my mother better, the best as I can. But one day, I went home after school to check up on my mother and she was more sick than usual. It was only moments before she passed away.
I went into foster care and it was a very tough time for me. It was difficult to get along with the other kids around my age and at school my foster siblings acted like they didn't know me and told other kids I lost my parents. That’s when I decided to run away shortly after I turned 17, which wasn't the legal age for me to live by myself. I never really thought of what I was going to do and where I was going to go after I ran away. I still remember the day where it was late at night, and I packed my bags with the money I have earned while I was in foster care, and left without a word. For a while it went well as it could for someone who ran away with nowhere to go. I was staying at a motel for the mean time, until I got a good job. I got a job at a gas station, but there were too many robberies and theft that occurred so I couldn't stay there for my safety. After that, it was really hard to get a job, because when I submit my resumé, there isn't anything I can put as a personal skill as I never had the time during foster care to work on my personal skills other than going to school.
I had to stop living in the motel because I was running out of money. I settled down on a park bench at night and slept there just for a while, and that's when I slept there night after night. Most of the time, I would be at the library reading and on the internet looking for jobs. Now for food wise, feeding myself was even harder. I tried to save up as much money as I can because the food was very expensive these days, and I couldn't buy myself a proper meal. All of my belongings were in my backpack that I had since the first day I ran away. It wasn't big enough to fit all my stuff in there so I kept half of my stuff in a plastic bag and carried that around with me too.
I always think that someday I'll be able to get off the streets again and be working and go to university and become the doctor that I always wanted to be. But of course, it's very hard to do it by myself and I need the support of other people to help me.
Now since the government is willing to let us speak about how they can make the situation better, I would like to say that there should always be somewhere where we could go if we are struggling financially or we don't have a place to sleep and homeless. They could also initiate homeless connect events, where homeless people can go and get free food and win money and get free pairs of clothing. There's many more ways for the government to help, but those are the ideas I have.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak out.
Fatima F
I went into foster care and it was a very tough time for me. It was difficult to get along with the other kids around my age and at school my foster siblings acted like they didn't know me and told other kids I lost my parents. That’s when I decided to run away shortly after I turned 17, which wasn't the legal age for me to live by myself. I never really thought of what I was going to do and where I was going to go after I ran away. I still remember the day where it was late at night, and I packed my bags with the money I have earned while I was in foster care, and left without a word. For a while it went well as it could for someone who ran away with nowhere to go. I was staying at a motel for the mean time, until I got a good job. I got a job at a gas station, but there were too many robberies and theft that occurred so I couldn't stay there for my safety. After that, it was really hard to get a job, because when I submit my resumé, there isn't anything I can put as a personal skill as I never had the time during foster care to work on my personal skills other than going to school.
I had to stop living in the motel because I was running out of money. I settled down on a park bench at night and slept there just for a while, and that's when I slept there night after night. Most of the time, I would be at the library reading and on the internet looking for jobs. Now for food wise, feeding myself was even harder. I tried to save up as much money as I can because the food was very expensive these days, and I couldn't buy myself a proper meal. All of my belongings were in my backpack that I had since the first day I ran away. It wasn't big enough to fit all my stuff in there so I kept half of my stuff in a plastic bag and carried that around with me too.
I always think that someday I'll be able to get off the streets again and be working and go to university and become the doctor that I always wanted to be. But of course, it's very hard to do it by myself and I need the support of other people to help me.
Now since the government is willing to let us speak about how they can make the situation better, I would like to say that there should always be somewhere where we could go if we are struggling financially or we don't have a place to sleep and homeless. They could also initiate homeless connect events, where homeless people can go and get free food and win money and get free pairs of clothing. There's many more ways for the government to help, but those are the ideas I have.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak out.
Fatima F
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