3 ms·

Sorry for the personal question, but, are you homeless by choice? It seems you can talk well in this area and appear to be eloquent enough to describe complex

Sorry for the personal question, but, are you homeless by choice? It seems you can talk well in this area and appear to be eloquent enough to describe complex situations, so it begs the question.

Mz 13y ago
As with all things, it is part choice, part happenstance. I have a serious medical condition, as does my oldest son. I have been advised that people like me do not get well. I have figured out how to get us well, but it all came out of my pocket, leading to a lot of debt. I had a job with a Fortune 500 company. At some point, I was evicted from my apartment, not due to inability to pay but because I had done things like removed carpeting without permission because that made more sense than staying ill. After getting a notice of eviction, I chose to not look for another apartment because it was clear to us that the apartment was part of why we were still ill. After three days sleeping in a tent amidst trees, I woke up feeling better than I had in years. I submitted my notice that I was quitting my job and I left on foot to cross the country and return to a climate I knew I would do better in. Since then, I have focused on getting well and trying to develop an income that does not keep me sick. I have made good headway on getting well and I am beginning to make headway on an income that does not keep me ill. I would like to get off the street soon. I am nearly well enough that I think more conventional housing would no longer be an automatic health disaster for me and my sons. I don't yet know how to solve that problem, either financially or logistically. I really need to go straight from homeless to homeowner. Renting leaves me too little control over my home life to keep myself well given my medical situation.
- heydenberk 13y ago
  Thank you so much for sharing. It is a well-needed reminder that homelessness and lack of health care are a vicious cycle in the US, whereby medical bills cause bankruptcy and homelessness causes [an increased chance of] injury, disease and mental illness. The conversation about homelessness too often takes place among the privileges, whose primary concern is to put the homeless out of sight and feel less guilty. I'm ashamed that I don't spend all day every day in a state of moral outrage that I live in a society where the sick are sometimes not just denied care but actually bankrupted and put out on the street.
  - Mz 13y ago
    I don't entirely agree with that view. My ex was career army, thus I am theoretically entitled to free medical care for life as long as I do not remarry. My bills are not "medical bills" per se. Getting well was not about pursuing drugs and surgeries. It was about figuring out how to feed myself better and live in a manner that accommodates my condition. I previously wanted to be an urban planner. I think the poor quality of a lot of the housing stock in this country contributes to health problems, as does our car-centered lifestyle. I have lived without a car for several years now. It is something fairly challenging to pull off in the U.S. (I now live in San Diego county, which has good public transit, but I was someplace without that when I gave up my car.) I think the path forward to get people healthier in this country is more complicated than just making sure they can "afford" to see a doctor. I have not seen a doctor in several years. If you are healthy, it matters a lot less whether or not you can "afford" a doctor. But have an upvote and thank you for commenting.
- wpietri 13y ago
  I was just about to write, "If you have a blog, I will eagerly add it to my feed reader." But I looked at your profile, and you already do! Very exciting: http://micheleincalifornia.blogspot.com/ http://micheleincalifornia.blogspot.com/
  - Mz 13y ago
    I actually have several websites. Assuming you are interested in homelessness per se, you might also be interested in this site of mine: http://sandiegohomelesssurvivalguide.blogspot.com/ http://sandiegohomelesssurvivalguide.blogspot.com/
    - sizzle 13y ago
      I go around downtown SD and hand out food/ talk to homeless for an org I'm active in. I wonder if we ever met?
      - Mz 13y ago
        I was in downtown for about six months. I left about 18 months ago. I have no idea if we ever met. There is a profile pic of me from that time in my personal blog (not my homeless blog), though seeing someone once more than 18 months ago might not stick with your memory.
- icpmacdo 13y ago
  ibogaine?
  - Mz 13y ago
    I don't really know what you are asking but it sounds like you are suggesting that I hallucinated my improved state of health? If so, no. I was living in a crappy apartment with mold issues and other issues. Being out of that environment was beneficial.
- dinkumthinkum 13y ago
  Conventional housing could be a health disaster for you and your son? Pardon me for asking but you are discussing it ... Is your illness something that would be recognized by mainstream science and medicine or is it something more, bohemian? Just curious.
  - Mz 13y ago
    My official diagnosis is "atypical cystic fibrosis." My diagnosis is very recognized. But I have also been told "people like you don't get well" by a specialist. So the choices I have made to get well in defiance of that are not recognized as legitimate choices. Thus I didn't bother to argue with my landlord and I accepted that taking care of myself likely would lead to eviction. It took 18 months but it did lead to eviction.
- nickstinemates 13y ago
  Thanks for answering. I hope you're able to find a situation that works best for you as soon as possible; it sounds like you're making the best of what was dealt and setting an amazing example for your son.
saraid216 13y ago
I suspect you'd be kinda shocked how well-educated and intelligent and capable a lot of homeless people actually are.
- Mz 13y ago
  That's true. It isn't simple "stupidity" or incompetence that lands people on the street. It is having one too many intractable problems (like an incurable medical condition and special needs kids) and too few resources to address them.
- nickstinemates 13y ago
  Maybe! I wasn't trying to imply homeless == stupid, I apologize if it came off that way. I understand homelessness is multifaceted and for some, even though intelligent, classic employment opportunities are not available/desirable for a whole host of reasons.
  - saraid216 13y ago
    Also keep in mind that employment doesn't guarantee a home, either. And that not having a home (namely, not having an address) can be a barrier to gainful employment. There are a lot of unfortunate Catch-22s sprinkled around our bureaucracies. The impression I got from your question wasn't that homeless people were incapable of intelligence, but rather that you thought intelligence was the exception, rather than the rule. This becomes a problem when, say, a rags-to-riches story comes around and people conclude not that this one person got a lucky break, but that this one person decided to stop being as stupid as the others. This in turn suggests that nothing is actually broken and homelessness is less an indicator of societal malfunction and more a casual nuisance.
    - deleted 13y ago
      [deleted]

Sorry for the personal question, but, are you homeless by choice? It seems you can talk well in this area and appear to be eloquent enough to describe complex situations, so it begs the question.

Mz 13y ago

As with all things, it is part choice, part happenstance. I have a serious medical condition, as does my oldest son. I have been advised that people like me do not get well. I have figured out how to get us well, but it all came out of my pocket, leading to a lot of debt. I had a job with a Fortune 500 company. At some point, I was evicted from my apartment, not due to inability to pay but because I had done things like removed carpeting without permission because that made more sense than staying ill. After getting a notice of eviction, I chose to not look for another apartment because it was clear to us that the apartment was part of why we were still ill. After three days sleeping in a tent amidst trees, I woke up feeling better than I had in years. I submitted my notice that I was quitting my job and I left on foot to cross the country and return to a climate I knew I would do better in. Since then, I have focused on getting well and trying to develop an income that does not keep me sick. I have made good headway on getting well and I am beginning to make headway on an income that does not keep me ill. I would like to get off the street soon. I am nearly well enough that I think more conventional housing would no longer be an automatic health disaster for me and my sons. I don't yet know how to solve that problem, either financially or logistically. I really need to go straight from homeless to homeowner. Renting leaves me too little control over my home life to keep myself well given my medical situation.

heydenberk 13y ago
Thank you so much for sharing. It is a well-needed reminder that homelessness and lack of health care are a vicious cycle in the US, whereby medical bills cause bankruptcy and homelessness causes [an increased chance of] injury, disease and mental illness. The conversation about homelessness too often takes place among the privileges, whose primary concern is to put the homeless out of sight and feel less guilty. I'm ashamed that I don't spend all day every day in a state of moral outrage that I live in a society where the sick are sometimes not just denied care but actually bankrupted and put out on the street.
- Mz 13y ago
  I don't entirely agree with that view. My ex was career army, thus I am theoretically entitled to free medical care for life as long as I do not remarry. My bills are not "medical bills" per se. Getting well was not about pursuing drugs and surgeries. It was about figuring out how to feed myself better and live in a manner that accommodates my condition. I previously wanted to be an urban planner. I think the poor quality of a lot of the housing stock in this country contributes to health problems, as does our car-centered lifestyle. I have lived without a car for several years now. It is something fairly challenging to pull off in the U.S. (I now live in San Diego county, which has good public transit, but I was someplace without that when I gave up my car.) I think the path forward to get people healthier in this country is more complicated than just making sure they can "afford" to see a doctor. I have not seen a doctor in several years. If you are healthy, it matters a lot less whether or not you can "afford" a doctor. But have an upvote and thank you for commenting.
wpietri 13y ago
I was just about to write, "If you have a blog, I will eagerly add it to my feed reader." But I looked at your profile, and you already do! Very exciting: http://micheleincalifornia.blogspot.com/ http://micheleincalifornia.blogspot.com/
- Mz 13y ago
  I actually have several websites. Assuming you are interested in homelessness per se, you might also be interested in this site of mine: http://sandiegohomelesssurvivalguide.blogspot.com/ http://sandiegohomelesssurvivalguide.blogspot.com/
  - sizzle 13y ago
    I go around downtown SD and hand out food/ talk to homeless for an org I'm active in. I wonder if we ever met?
    - Mz 13y ago
      I was in downtown for about six months. I left about 18 months ago. I have no idea if we ever met. There is a profile pic of me from that time in my personal blog (not my homeless blog), though seeing someone once more than 18 months ago might not stick with your memory.
icpmacdo 13y ago
ibogaine?
- Mz 13y ago
  I don't really know what you are asking but it sounds like you are suggesting that I hallucinated my improved state of health? If so, no. I was living in a crappy apartment with mold issues and other issues. Being out of that environment was beneficial.
dinkumthinkum 13y ago
Conventional housing could be a health disaster for you and your son? Pardon me for asking but you are discussing it ... Is your illness something that would be recognized by mainstream science and medicine or is it something more, bohemian? Just curious.
- Mz 13y ago
  My official diagnosis is "atypical cystic fibrosis." My diagnosis is very recognized. But I have also been told "people like you don't get well" by a specialist. So the choices I have made to get well in defiance of that are not recognized as legitimate choices. Thus I didn't bother to argue with my landlord and I accepted that taking care of myself likely would lead to eviction. It took 18 months but it did lead to eviction.
nickstinemates 13y ago
Thanks for answering. I hope you're able to find a situation that works best for you as soon as possible; it sounds like you're making the best of what was dealt and setting an amazing example for your son.

saraid216 13y ago

I suspect you'd be kinda shocked how well-educated and intelligent and capable a lot of homeless people actually are.

Mz 13y ago
That's true. It isn't simple "stupidity" or incompetence that lands people on the street. It is having one too many intractable problems (like an incurable medical condition and special needs kids) and too few resources to address them.
nickstinemates 13y ago
Maybe! I wasn't trying to imply homeless == stupid, I apologize if it came off that way. I understand homelessness is multifaceted and for some, even though intelligent, classic employment opportunities are not available/desirable for a whole host of reasons.
- saraid216 13y ago
  Also keep in mind that employment doesn't guarantee a home, either. And that not having a home (namely, not having an address) can be a barrier to gainful employment. There are a lot of unfortunate Catch-22s sprinkled around our bureaucracies. The impression I got from your question wasn't that homeless people were incapable of intelligence, but rather that you thought intelligence was the exception, rather than the rule. This becomes a problem when, say, a rags-to-riches story comes around and people conclude not that this one person got a lucky break, but that this one person decided to stop being as stupid as the others. This in turn suggests that nothing is actually broken and homelessness is less an indicator of societal malfunction and more a casual nuisance.
  - deleted 13y ago
    [deleted]