By Jueseppi B.
I ended the last installment of this blog telling you all about my experience with the heads of five agencies telling me, assuring me, that I would not be in the street come my exit date from the Dady Shelter. Suffice it to say, that is exactly what would have happened if I had not been street smart enough to prepare for the worst.
It's Monday the 28th of March, and I am high on the knowledge that I have received a miracle from above in the form of being approved for SSI/SSDI in a record 36 days. That is unheard of, just ask the many, many people waiting years to be approved. I walk into the Dady shelter, only to be told to pack up and get out by that evening. I ask the staff member, after relating to her that the Dady counselor had assured me he would find me a shelter to go to, if she was just going to put me out into the street...her reply was, and I quote..."I guess so".
Now, blessed with a mind that works as it should from time to time, I was prepared for this to happen. I had been donating plasma to a facility and had been saving the donation money I was paid, for just such an emergency. I packed my belongings, called the cheapest and the scummiest hotel in CR and made a reservation for one night. As I was waiting on the taxi to pick me up and take me and my bucket of KFC to this flea bag hotel.....one of the idiots who had assured me I would not be in the street, called to tell me he had arranged a bed in a shelter for me starting tomorrow. He never asked where I planned to sleep that night, nor did he offer any explanation why he lied to me about not being out in the street, and I never asked or mentioned a thing.
The taxi arrived, I loaded my two suitcases and bucket of KFC into the car and off I went to my hotel accommodations for the night. I slept on the floor to avoid the bed, which just screamed "bed bugs" into my ears. I made sure I was properly insulated against whatever might be living in the carpet, and slept a few hours till awakening and showering and shaving for the new days events. I got this bright idea to call this housing guy who dropped the ball about finding me another shelter before my exit date, and asked him for a ride to the shelter he had arranged to meet me at in a few hours. It costs me $20 taxi fare to the hotel from the Dady shelter, and I was trying to be frugal.
What followed is all true, all accurate and all an example of why this system is seriously flawed.
Mr. Joe Zito, the housing "professional" in CR for all homeless men/women asked me where I was. I proceeded to inform him of my plight, how since he didn't follow thru on his promise to make sure I was not kicked out into the street upon my exit date from the Dady shelter, I found a way to not be sleeping last night under a bridge somewhere. Follow closely now....this is the good part....Mr. Joe Zito, then informed me, that I was taking advantage of the system. He said that no homeless man can afford a hotel room, not even for one night. He then went on to tell me I should have slept on the couch in the Dady shelter until this morning, when he had arranged a transfer for me from the Dady shelter to the Mission Of Hope Shelter (hereafter to be called MOH shelter).
he also told me my attitude was not conducive to anyone helping me.
The conversation that followed between Mr. Joe Zito and I is not printable, but that morning, he found it prudent to get to the MOH shelter way before our appointment, and set up my arrival into this new shelter, so he would not run into me, and have to look me in the eye. And possibly get his ass handed to him. Contrary to the popular belief here in Facebook among those who dislike my strong political stance, I am not a man of violence, I am not mild mannered by any stretch of the imagination but I do not resort to violence as a first means of resolving conflicts. In this case, I reverted to the basic animalistic idea of depositing my size 13 shoe as far up Mr. Joe Zito's anus as it would realistically reach.
I was admitted into the MOH shelter that morning, and that experience at this new shelter was magnificent. It was professionally run by a woman most disliked because she was all business. She was the reason this place was clean, and safe from conflict. She made sure the many rules were followed and established up front who was in charge and what she would not tolerate from the men who lived there. That was very important, because lets face facts....not every homeless person is concerned with following rules and being clean. I found all staff members of the Mission Of Hope Shelter to be fantastic in their understanding of the trials and tribulations of being homeless.
They were compassionate and understanding to a fault. I got settled into the MOH shelter and got busy living toward finding a new place to live.........
To Be Continued............
I ended the last installment of this blog telling you all about my experience with the heads of five agencies telling me, assuring me, that I would not be in the street come my exit date from the Dady Shelter. Suffice it to say, that is exactly what would have happened if I had not been street smart enough to prepare for the worst.
It's Monday the 28th of March, and I am high on the knowledge that I have received a miracle from above in the form of being approved for SSI/SSDI in a record 36 days. That is unheard of, just ask the many, many people waiting years to be approved. I walk into the Dady shelter, only to be told to pack up and get out by that evening. I ask the staff member, after relating to her that the Dady counselor had assured me he would find me a shelter to go to, if she was just going to put me out into the street...her reply was, and I quote..."I guess so".
Now, blessed with a mind that works as it should from time to time, I was prepared for this to happen. I had been donating plasma to a facility and had been saving the donation money I was paid, for just such an emergency. I packed my belongings, called the cheapest and the scummiest hotel in CR and made a reservation for one night. As I was waiting on the taxi to pick me up and take me and my bucket of KFC to this flea bag hotel.....one of the idiots who had assured me I would not be in the street, called to tell me he had arranged a bed in a shelter for me starting tomorrow. He never asked where I planned to sleep that night, nor did he offer any explanation why he lied to me about not being out in the street, and I never asked or mentioned a thing.
The taxi arrived, I loaded my two suitcases and bucket of KFC into the car and off I went to my hotel accommodations for the night. I slept on the floor to avoid the bed, which just screamed "bed bugs" into my ears. I made sure I was properly insulated against whatever might be living in the carpet, and slept a few hours till awakening and showering and shaving for the new days events. I got this bright idea to call this housing guy who dropped the ball about finding me another shelter before my exit date, and asked him for a ride to the shelter he had arranged to meet me at in a few hours. It costs me $20 taxi fare to the hotel from the Dady shelter, and I was trying to be frugal.
What followed is all true, all accurate and all an example of why this system is seriously flawed.
Mr. Joe Zito, the housing "professional" in CR for all homeless men/women asked me where I was. I proceeded to inform him of my plight, how since he didn't follow thru on his promise to make sure I was not kicked out into the street upon my exit date from the Dady shelter, I found a way to not be sleeping last night under a bridge somewhere. Follow closely now....this is the good part....Mr. Joe Zito, then informed me, that I was taking advantage of the system. He said that no homeless man can afford a hotel room, not even for one night. He then went on to tell me I should have slept on the couch in the Dady shelter until this morning, when he had arranged a transfer for me from the Dady shelter to the Mission Of Hope Shelter (hereafter to be called MOH shelter).
he also told me my attitude was not conducive to anyone helping me.
The conversation that followed between Mr. Joe Zito and I is not printable, but that morning, he found it prudent to get to the MOH shelter way before our appointment, and set up my arrival into this new shelter, so he would not run into me, and have to look me in the eye. And possibly get his ass handed to him. Contrary to the popular belief here in Facebook among those who dislike my strong political stance, I am not a man of violence, I am not mild mannered by any stretch of the imagination but I do not resort to violence as a first means of resolving conflicts. In this case, I reverted to the basic animalistic idea of depositing my size 13 shoe as far up Mr. Joe Zito's anus as it would realistically reach.
I was admitted into the MOH shelter that morning, and that experience at this new shelter was magnificent. It was professionally run by a woman most disliked because she was all business. She was the reason this place was clean, and safe from conflict. She made sure the many rules were followed and established up front who was in charge and what she would not tolerate from the men who lived there. That was very important, because lets face facts....not every homeless person is concerned with following rules and being clean. I found all staff members of the Mission Of Hope Shelter to be fantastic in their understanding of the trials and tribulations of being homeless.
They were compassionate and understanding to a fault. I got settled into the MOH shelter and got busy living toward finding a new place to live.........
To Be Continued............
