Coronavirus; how do you quarantine without a home.

[Hollow Point]

I see a lot of posts and comments about the Coronavirus, and it's made me want to share my take on it. Sorry, I dont get to talk to alot of people and well, I want to lol.

I'm homeless and stay in a shelter. So when we are ordered to implement social distancing and isolation...I'm, for lack of a better word, fucked. The shelter I stay at is huge, its 4 floors. It houses around 1000 people on a regular night.

The feeding area is floor 2, and it's a bunch of tables and chairs tightly packed together in a large room. The sleeping arrangements are 2 inch blue mats on the concrete floor, spaced 2 inches apart from eachother. There are long lines for food, bathrooms, and general inquiries.

It's not a good idea to stay there during the day, its dangerous. I usually would hang out in the mall or the library. Places I can use computers and have free wifi. Try to be productive each day in some way. Now, the library are closed, you can loiter at the mall, and trying to stay warm has become a even bigger challenge.

The staff try to make a effort towards keeping it sanitary, but it's a battle they cant even come close to winning. The place is a living breathing petri dish of degenerate filth. If there is any high risk place, it's where I sleep at night.

Ironically, the quarantine has caused me to spend more time outdoors. Usually my internet time comes from free wifi, so I've had less of that, but it's not too bad I guess. Its pretty crazy to see the flow of the city die down. I have a better feel then most for how the city pulses, and its died down plenty.

There are rumors floating around that the shelter will have the temporarily close. If that happens, that's going to be my cue to leave this world. If I dont even have my shelter, then I'm absolutely done. I'm not alone in this situation either.

Alot of homeless people are being hit extremely hard by this. People tend to think less of the needy when they are so concerned about their own health. It was hard enough to get the time of day off somebody before the virus, you can imagine how hard it is to approach a stranger as a homeless person now. I'm used to flying solo at this point, but now its next level. I feel like I'm on the outside looking in on the world coming together while I'm stuck outside with the rest of the forgotten.

I really hope something changes. I dont want to have my hand forced by this stupid fucking virus, but it continues to call the shots. It's made my difficult life even harder, and its approaching the point of being literally unlivable...like, I'll die from lack of being able to keep myself alive instead of choosing to die. It doesn't seem like a nice way to go too.

So yea, I'm pretty much unable to follow and enforce the health and safety guidelines for myself to keep myself safe, all while my oppertunites and comforts shut down around me. This virus might be the beginning of the end for me, regardless of me catching it or not.I know people who have it much much worse then I do, but struggle is struggle. I would kill to have a couch inside to sit on all day lol.

 

[Taki]

Sorry to hear that. I wish I could do something for you.

 

[Hollow Point]

Sorry to hear that. I wish I could do something for you.

Thanks. You can, buy the next homeless person you see a coffee or sandwhich if you're able to :)

 

[Taki]

Thanks. You can, buy the next homeless person you see a coffee or sandwhich if you're able to :)

I will do that.

 

[Hollow Point]

I will do that.

Much appreciated. It's a small thing that could mean a ton! Its heartwarming when people show compassion to us. A good reminder not everyone sucks, which is hard to remember sometimes.

 

[faust]

Hello,

Sorry for hijacking the thread, maybe it is not the right time to vent for me, but...

I often helped homeless myself, because nobody else would help those people.
I am glad you tell about you, because most of people remain silent to this problem.
Let everybody be aware, this may happen to everybody!
Maybe because once I left my home with no money and no place to stay, a few days I was living in my gfs flat and then moved to half-abandoned summerhouse.
No food banks, no money, no running water, no heating.
Now I gave money to my friend to pay for his hostel despite having almost nothing myself.

People have very different reasons why that happened.
And the thing is that people judge before they are in situation like that.
Even I would be accused if somebody knows that I give away my last money for homeless...
They say something like "Are you fucking rich, what are you doing... You are insane, they are slackers"
But they have never been shivering in the morning and washing their head when it is very cold.
They have never had no food weeks and weeks.
I would become homeless again in autumn, but this won't happen, I am going soon.

I hope your situation resolves, try to keep yourself warm and avoid any possible contacts.
And thank you once again for telling us!

 

[Hollow Point]

Hello,

Sorry for hijacking the thread, maybe it is not the right time to vent for me, but...

I often helped homeless myself, because nobody else would help those people.
I am glad you tell about you, because most of people remain silent to this problem.
Let everybody be aware, this may happen to everybody!
Maybe because once I left my home with no money and no place to stay, a few days I was living in my gfs flat and then moved to half-abandoned summerhouse.
No food banks, no money, no running water, no heating.
Now I gave money to my friend to pay for his hostel despite having almost nothing myself.

People have very different reasons why that happened.
And the thing is that people judge before they are in situation like that.
Even I would be accused if somebody knows that I give away my last money for homeless...
They say something like "Are you fucking rich, what are you doing... You are insane, they are slackers"
But they have never been shivering in the morning and washing their head when it is very cold.
They have never had no food weeks and weeks.
I would become homeless again in autumn, but this won't happen, I am going soon.

I hope your situation resolves, try to keep yourself warm and avoid any possible contacts.
And thank you once again for telling us!

:) thanks for putting in work for the needy, people who do that are angels.

It's true, becoming homeless is easier then people think. It can be hard to realize that you are a couple wrong moves away from being on the street at any given time.

Not everyone becomes homeless because of addiction or abuse or crime. Some people have bad luck, fall sick or get injured, or many other legitimate reasons. For us who do not have a family or friend system to rely on..once you fuck up, that's it. You're outside and survinging off the system.

That said, I do have to admit a unfortunately large portion of the homeless population here are addicts or mentally unstable..the kind old man that flys his sign outside your 7-11 is not a accurate representation of what it's like in the "community". There are so many people who dont deserve to be on the street...but I gotta be real and say some of them probably do deserve to be here. I've dealt with alot of bullshit living among it.

You just cant judge anyone. Give them respect until they give you a reason not to. The extreme cases of assholes are easy to spot, but you never know what that person sitting at the park bench is going through..some of us just made poor financial decisions and just need a break...we dont enjoy leeching off the city. I'll work the first job I can land even if its shoveling shit.

 

[Dawgmom]

Are you in the US?

 

[Hollow Point]

Are you in the US?

No, I'm from the land of the polite where shits covered in ice

 

[Dawgmom]

No, I'm from the land of the polite where shits covered in ice

Ah, okay. Better there than here then.

Sorry for your struggles. I hope the shelter stays open and you stay safe and warm. Hang in there.

 

[Hollow Point]

Ah, okay. Better there than here then.

Sorry for your struggles. I hope the shelter stays open and you stay safe and warm. Hang in there.

Yes I'm lucky in that sense. Being homeless in general is harder there I would think, now especially that you're getting hit so hard there. Thanks, I hope things work out. Hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

 

[faust]

:) thanks for putting in work for the needy, people who do that are angels.

It's true, becoming homeless is easier then people think. It can be hard to realize that you are a couple wrong moves away from being on the street at any given time.

Not everyone becomes homeless because of addiction or abuse or crime. Some people have bad luck, fall sick or get injured, or many other legitimate reasons. For us who do not have a family or friend system to rely on..once you fuck up, that's it. You're outside and survinging off the system.

That said, I do have to admit a unfortunately large portion of the homeless population here are addicts or mentally unstable..the kind old man that flys his sign outside your 7-11 is not a accurate representation of what it's like in the "community". There are so many people who dont deserve to be on the street...but I gotta be real and say some of them probably do deserve to be here. I've dealt with alot of bullshit living among it.

You just cant judge anyone. Give them respect until they give you a reason not to. The extreme cases of assholes are easy to spot, but you never know what that person sitting at the park bench is going through..some of us just made poor financial decisions and just need a break...we dont enjoy leeching off the city. I'll work the first job I can land even if its shoveling shit.

Yes, reasons are absolutely different.
I have seen many people with mental health problems, those who were scammed, those who lost the car/van where they lived because they could not afford insurance. I talk to homeless often when I am in Dublin. When it is a drug addict, it is easy to see but even drug addicts are different.
Once I was playing truants in an empty park in my home country and there was a person who killed another many years ago, now was living from burglaries after prison. And instead of just stabbing me and taking all my stuff, we were talking to each other. He was crying and saying that he is tired, he lost everything and could live no more. He killed somebody because of drugs but realized he was wrong. But probably too late. Society does not give another chance.

 

[Hollow Point]

Yes, reasons are absolutely different.
I have seen many people with mental health problems, those who were scammed, those who lost the car/van where they lived because they could not afford insurance. I talk to homeless often when I am in Dublin. When it is a drug addict, it is easy to see but even drug addicts are different.
Once I was playing truants in an empty park in my home country and there was a person who killed another many years ago, now was living from burglaries after prison. And instead of just stabbing me and taking all my stuff, we were talking to each other. He was crying and saying that he is tired, he lost everything and could live no more. He killed somebody because of drugs but realized he was wrong. But probably too late. Society does not give another chance.

Thata crazy. Yea you never know who somebody is underneath all the layers. I've been taken advantage of by the nicest seeming people, and gained mutual trust with people that would scare away most. The reality is most are just trying to mind their own business and find a way to get back as much comfort in their lives as possible. Boy does it make you appreciate shit more. It also is a grim look into the underbelly of the city. Everything can be peaches and cream during the day, but at night it can be another planet.

Unfortunately most of us are already forgotten. By the time you hit th shelters, things are not looking promising for you. There are lifers here, those who will never leave. There is one man with no legs who hangs by the entrance and pisses and shits in his wheelchair everyday. Ambulances get called for him multiple times a week, and he just goes back to the same spot. Its maintaining the problem instead of fixing it.

I just wish not having a home didn't label you as some leper for business. You need ID to get a job, you need a job to get ID, endless circles like that all the time. People give up and find a way to work the street. I'm at the point. It's been a fucking year. And I have a decent resume and work history and work ethic/ demeanor...but because I'm homeless, there must be something wrong with me, so nobody gives me a chance.

 

[faust]

Thata crazy. Yea you never know who somebody is underneath all the layers. I've been taken advantage of by the nicest seeming people, and gained mutual trust with people that would scare away most. The reality is most are just trying to mind their own business and find a way to get back as much comfort in their lives as possible. Boy does it make you appreciate shit more. It also is a grim look into the underbelly of the city. Everything can be peaches and cream during the day, but at night it can be another planet.

Unfortunately most of us are already forgotten. By the time you hit th shelters, things are not looking promising for you. There are lifers here, those who will never leave. There is one man with no legs who hangs by the entrance and pisses and shits in his wheelchair everyday. Ambulances get called for him multiple times a week, and he just goes back to the same spot. Its maintaining the problem instead of fixing it.

I just wish not having a home didn't label you as some leper for business. You need ID to get a job, you need a job to get ID, endless circles like that all the time. People give up and find a way to work the street. I'm at the point. It's been a fucking year. And I have a decent resume and work history and work ethic/ demeanor...but because I'm homeless, there must be something wrong with me, so nobody gives me a chance.

Are there any work agencies nearby? I don't know how this works in your country, but generally agencies are interested in giving you some kind of job.
There are also options like 1-2-3-day jobs which can keep you going if it is a disaster with money. Ofc if it is allowed to work like that in Canada.
You can also look for jobs which provide, for example, accommodation. Maybe in another city or somewhere in the middle of nowhere.
Quarantine/Lockdown makes dramatic changes right now, but you can try after this mess ends.

 

[Lostandfound7]

Hello love. I'm truly sorry to hear the situation that life has placed u in..I am here mourning the loss of my 31 year old nephew (that resided with me), after he tragically passed away in his sleep last Saturday at his gf's house n wasn't even ready to post on SS as of yet. But I am moved with compassion by what u have said n just have to encourage u..

Ur strength, determination, and spirit have me in awe..As i lay in bed, deeply mourning the loss of my dear nephew n pondering over my life, ur reality has slapped me in the face..
I admire ur strength in such an unpleasant environment. I can feel the kindness, even in ur desperation, in ur writing..I am so sorry.

I am praying that u will find favor in this season and I would luv to assist u in any way that I am able. ..

Here for u♡

 

[Hollow Point]

Are there any work agencies nearby? I don't know how this works in your country, but generally agencies are interested in giving you some kind of job.
There are also options like 1-2-3-day jobs which can keep you going if it is a disaster with money. Ofc if it is allowed to work like that in Canada.
You can also look for jobs which provide, for example, accommodation. Maybe in another city or somewhere in the middle of nowhere.
Quarantine/Lockdown makes dramatic changes right now, but you can try after this mess ends.

Yes there are temp agencies, I use them as often as I can. They are never guaranteed work though. Sometimes they have something for you, sometimes there is nothing. I dont qualify for benefits because I'm a mid aged single male with no dependents and I'm able to work. I appreciate the advice, I've done just about everything I can to get out of this situation. It's at a point where I'm about to give up because I cant keep pushing in this situation.

Hello love. I'm truly sorry to hear the situation that life has placed u in..I am here mourning the loss of my 31 year old nephew (that resided with me), after he tragically passed away in his sleep last Saturday at his gf's house n wasn't even ready to post on SS as of yet. But I am moved with compassion by what u have said n just have to encourage u..

Ur strength, determination, and spirit have me in awe..As i lay in bed, deeply mourning the loss of my dear nephew n pondering over my life, ur reality has slapped me in the face..
I admire ur strength in such an unpleasant environment. I can feel the kindness, even in ur desperation, in ur writing..I am so sorry.

I am praying that u will find favor in this season and I would luv to assist u in any way that I am able. ..

Here for u♡

Thank you so much for your kind words, and I'm so sorry for your loss. Im sending love your way. I appreciate the prayers and the offer to help :)

 

[Dawgmom]

Yes I'm lucky in that sense. Being homeless in general is harder there I would think, now especially that you're getting hit so hard there. Thanks, I hope things work out. Hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

Yes. The homeless here are in very bad shape but at least the weather isn't adding too much extra problems. We're warming up at least.

Our numbers aren't accurate, either. Lots more dead everywhere - not just NY - even in small towns like mine. Most rural healthcare workers are not prepared or even realize how bad things are. Where you go if infected makes a difference, sadly.

The American dream is a myth. And, the world is the same as always. The rich rule, although most have learned to provide the slaves with "fair-enough" wages so that they don't complain too much and don't have any control to do anything about it even when they try.

 

[Hollow Point]

Yes. The homeless here are in very bad shape but at least the weather isn't adding too much extra problems. We're warming up at least.

Our numbers aren't accurate, either. Lots more dead everywhere - not just NY - even in small towns like mine. Most rural healthcare workers are not prepared or even realize how bad things are. Where you go if infected makes a difference, sadly.

The American dream is a myth. And, the world is the same as always. The rich rule, although most have learned to provide the slaves with "fair-enough" wages so that they don't complain too much and don't have any control to do anything about it even when they try.

The cold is the biggest issue here. In warmer places you have a few options when it comes to how you want to live as a homeless person. Tent, streets, car, etc. Here, anything outside becomes deadly pretty quick. Wouldn't be too comfy in a tent when it's up to -50 out some nights. That's why I'm at the shelter, it's my best option even though shelters suuuuck lol. The numbers here keep growing.

Yea I hear you. It may be weird, but I would be happy with a good enough job and paying bills. I dont agree with much of society but I'm willing to play by its rules if it means freedom and privacy I guess.