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The Time I was Homeless...It Really Happened.

Sure, it was only 10 days, but it could've been longer.

By Crissy CornwellPublished 3 years ago 4 min read
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The Time I was Homeless...It Really Happened.
Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

At the beginning of 2020, I became homeless. On New Year's day, my daughter and I were kicked out of the place we were living, where we had been for a few years. One thing I never thought would happen, happened at that moment. Of course, we got to stay until the next day because no where was open on a holiday, but the very next day, we went to get help since we no longer had a place to stay.

Ok, so we weren't "living on the street" homeless, begging for food or money, but we still didn't have a permanent place of residence and I didn't have much money since I had just started my job of driving a cab a little over a month prior and it didn't exactly pay...the best...and I had bills that took the majority, if not all, of my paycheck each week. Getting help from social services, I was able to get in a hotel room and start my search for an apartment. I knew I didn't have the money for an apartment, but thankfully there are resources around to help with that. Social services paid for my hotel room and provided me with names and numbers of local landlords that would accept payment vouchers, and I was off on an adventure to find the perfect place for me and my daughter.

I knew that I would need a lot of help on rent with the amount of money I was making, that was until my boss offered me a "promotion." Instead of driving a cab, making only commission, which was not a lot, I would be making minimum wage as an hourly rate and working 42 hour weeks with no overtime pay, I was making more than enough to not only pay for my monthly rent and bills with over $600 left a month. Of course, I knew I still wouldn't have the money to immediately get into an apartment as most, if not all places required 2 months rent to get in. Luckily, there is a place called Catholic Charities that helps pay to get into an apartment.

By Quino Al on Unsplash

After calling all of the landlords on the list I was given to no avail, I started searching elsewhere, even craigslist. Luckily, for me anyway, my apartment search happened before Covid hit and there were actually some apartments available. During one evening of watching tv in the hotel room with my daughter and eating our microwaved meals, I just happened to scroll through craigslist to see if there were any updates, and I found a townhouse style apartment on a street that one of my good friends lives on, and the pictures looked great, so I set up a viewing. The day couldn't come quick enough because I was sick of living in the tiny hotel room. Finally, I went to look at the apartment and knew I wanted it the second I walked through the door. This place was HUGE and there were so many possibilities, and the thing that sold me the most though, other than actually being able to finally be in my own place, is that it came with a washer and dryer!

That day, I looked at this apartment in the morning and had another viewing scheduled for that afternoon for another place. After seeing the second place, I was set on getting the town-house style apartment that was actually half a house, and did I mention that it came with a washer and dryer? I let the landlord know I wanted the place and asked if I could sign the lease that afternoon and had my case worker from Catholic Charities meet us so she could work out the details of payment for getting me into the apartment. 10 days after living in a tiny, cluttered hotel, I signed my lease, got my keys and moved into the apartment that I have now been in for about a year and a half.

So, yes, I was homeless and yes, I still struggle sometimes, but my landlord is amazing and understands that life happens. He is also letting me fix up my apartment because the house is old and it needs some TLC, while giving me a discount on my rent for anything I have to buy to update anything. I have never been happier than I am now, and I even have my brother as a roommate now, which alleviates some of the stress of bills.

Humanity
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About the Creator

Crissy Cornwell

Single mom, writer, singer, cat lady

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