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I'm smart, hardworking, and educated. In 2009 I still ended up homeless. I couldn't find a job. It happens, and it can happen fast.

Overtonwindow 6y ago
Was it because of decisions you made, or someone else?
- PopeDotNinja 6y ago
  Bad luck, bad timing, and poor life choices. Figurative crippling student debt, literal crippling bike accident (2 broken arms) w/ associated disruptions, an economy in the shitter, and trying to start a startup with savings which didn’t take off before the money ran out. The concept of being homeless didn’t really hit me until after I was homeless. I was sleeping on the floor of someone I just met, and at one point the room got a bit too small for the two of us and he kicked me out. I remember thinking to myself “where am I going to put my stuff tonight?” I could find a place to sleep, but I couldn’t necessarily find a place to sleep & not lose my stuff. I had a laptop that was my lifeline to searching for work, and without that I would have been royally jacked.
  - vertis 6y ago
    Having spent a bunch of time helping homelessness charities in Australia, I now have a much better understanding of it. Enough to realise that I was technically homeless for a while when I was much younger (circa 2004), in the couch-surfing leaning on others kind of way. Some of the associated problems are hard to deal with. Mentally you end up in a spin, spending all your mental energy on making money go far enough. I had very unstable self-employed IT income. No ability to get a job because I'd dropped out of University (because of lack of money). As much as I was never at risk of sleeping rough, it was still a humbling experience. I hadn't really made bad choices*. In hindsight there were many things that I could have done better, swallowing my pride and telling people being at least one. But hindsight is 20/20 and has the benefit of years of reflection. The financial problems took years to resolve even when the income became more stable. It also became a puzzle. In order to get a house you have to have a bond, even finding a share house they want stable income (to be clear I wasn't making nothing it was just sporadic). Not being aware of even where to ask for help is also problematic (There are websites now that help with this a little). There are many reasons that people end up homeless, and to varying degrees. Society tends to lump them all together. Drugs and mental illness may be issues that cause homelessness, but so are unstable finances and domestic violence. Now, it will absolutely be COVID19 related, but that won't change the negative experience.
- okbuddy 6y ago
  what difference does it make? Why would they deserve to be homeless either way?
  - PopeDotNinja 6y ago
    I don’t mind answering questions.

Overtonwindow 6y ago

Was it because of decisions you made, or someone else?

PopeDotNinja 6y ago
Bad luck, bad timing, and poor life choices. Figurative crippling student debt, literal crippling bike accident (2 broken arms) w/ associated disruptions, an economy in the shitter, and trying to start a startup with savings which didn’t take off before the money ran out. The concept of being homeless didn’t really hit me until after I was homeless. I was sleeping on the floor of someone I just met, and at one point the room got a bit too small for the two of us and he kicked me out. I remember thinking to myself “where am I going to put my stuff tonight?” I could find a place to sleep, but I couldn’t necessarily find a place to sleep & not lose my stuff. I had a laptop that was my lifeline to searching for work, and without that I would have been royally jacked.
- vertis 6y ago
  Having spent a bunch of time helping homelessness charities in Australia, I now have a much better understanding of it. Enough to realise that I was technically homeless for a while when I was much younger (circa 2004), in the couch-surfing leaning on others kind of way. Some of the associated problems are hard to deal with. Mentally you end up in a spin, spending all your mental energy on making money go far enough. I had very unstable self-employed IT income. No ability to get a job because I'd dropped out of University (because of lack of money). As much as I was never at risk of sleeping rough, it was still a humbling experience. I hadn't really made bad choices*. In hindsight there were many things that I could have done better, swallowing my pride and telling people being at least one. But hindsight is 20/20 and has the benefit of years of reflection. The financial problems took years to resolve even when the income became more stable. It also became a puzzle. In order to get a house you have to have a bond, even finding a share house they want stable income (to be clear I wasn't making nothing it was just sporadic). Not being aware of even where to ask for help is also problematic (There are websites now that help with this a little). There are many reasons that people end up homeless, and to varying degrees. Society tends to lump them all together. Drugs and mental illness may be issues that cause homelessness, but so are unstable finances and domestic violence. Now, it will absolutely be COVID19 related, but that won't change the negative experience.
okbuddy 6y ago
what difference does it make? Why would they deserve to be homeless either way?
- PopeDotNinja 6y ago
  I don’t mind answering questions.