DO YOU HAVE SEX IN THE SHELTER THAT YOU LIVE IN?

Some of you are living in shelters and most shelters have a rule that men and woman cannot mix. You might be a married couple living apart in the shelter, men on one side, women on another. Or you might be interested in having sex, with a man or a woman, be it that you're straight or gay or whatever, and have to sneak to do it or go to a motel or in the bushes.

DO YOU HAVE SEX IN THE SHELTER THAT YOU LIVE IN?

MARY MAGDALENE PROJECT - FOR WOMEN WHO WANT OUT OF PROSTITUTION OR SEX TRAFFICING - OVER 30 YEARS EXPERIENCE - ASKING FOR FIVE DOLLARS

"It’s a fact: everyone is stretching dollars these days. In the current economic climate, the Mary Magdalene Project (MMP) recognizes that many people are no longer able to donate to every worthwhile organization seeking funds. This is why MMP is launching a new $5 campaign called “Five Could Change A Life”.

The Mary Magdalene Project, a nonprofit organization established in 1980, has given women who have been victimized by domestic trafficking and street prostitution the opportunity to turn their lives around and permanently exit the life. Through an intensive and comprehensive program, the women face, cope with and then overcome the many obstacles that life has dealt them.

New relationships are formed, skills and strengths are discovered.
Mary Magdalene Project programs and services include Hayman House Residential Treatment Program, Drop-In-Center, Transitional Living Program, Family Reunification Program, Emergency Intervention Support Services

RIVERSIDE COUNTY CALIFORNIA HOMELESS SERVICES AND OPTIONS

Linked here.

Currently Homeless in Riverside?If you are currently experiencing homelessness in Riverside and are in need of assistance or know someone in need of assistance with a homeless situation, please contact the :City of Riverside

HOMELESS STREET OUTREACH TEAM at 951-826-2200
PATH OF LIFE RIVERSIDE EMERGENCY SHELTER at 951-683-4101.
PATH OF LIFE RIVERSIDE FAMILY SHELTER at 951-275-8755

DAWN LOGGINS - HOMELESS STUDENT TO STUDY AT HARVARD

The news that DAWN LOGGINS, who endured being evicted with her family many times. In various news articles we learned she studied by candlelight when the electric bill didn't get paid. She worked as a custodian at the high school she attended, was abandoned by her parents, sofa hopped. WE WANT TO CONGRADULATE DAWN who will never be any ordinary Harvard student. Her years of experience as a poor person in the United States of America have already formed her, in this case to somehow stay focused and succeed but we also hope that in her adult life she'll have a long memory and stand for the disadvantaged.

While we are always happy to hear of success stories, let us remind ourselves that for people living in pain success is making it through the day, or even the hour. FOr people who are stuck in a struggle for survival and scrounging their next meal, hunger is what informs their politics and their mentality. It's more common for homeless children to have difficulty with school because of their time out of school, moving school districts, or being kept as a outsider socially. We just posted the link to LA Unified School District Homeless programs. If that's you, try to stay in school.

LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT HOMELESS EDUCATION - YOU CAN STILL GO TO SCHOOL

Hector Madrigal, Director of Pupil Services
Melissa Schoonmaker, Coordinator Pupil Services and Attendance

LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
1430 South San Julian Street,
Building 7
Los Angeles, CA 90015
(213) 765-2880

If your child, 2- 18 years old, is missing school because you live in a shelter or motel or in a car, or move frequently... Or YOU as a child live in an abandoned building, parked car, share housing with another family due to economic hardship, live in a trailer park or campsite, are abandoned at a hospital, are awaiting shelter, foster care, are migratory, runway, or abandoned. YES YOU CAN STILL GO TO SCHOOL. LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT WILL HELP.

You still have rights. You do not need to wait for your academic or health records to arrive. You can go to preschool. You can go to a magnet program. You will get backpacks, school supplies, transportation, and school clothing. SCHOOL HAS STARTED. CALL THIS NUMBER RIGHT AWAY!

LOS ANGELES REGIONAL FOOD BANK - KIDS CAFE FOOD RESOURCE

THE LA BAR ASSOCIATION HAS BEEN RAISING FUNDS FOR KIDS CAFE - A service of the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. Informational Web Site Linked here.

"The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank implements the Kids Cafe program at 27 sites in Los Angeles County and serves approximately 1,900 children each day. The Kids Cafe program addresses the needs for both proper nutrition and quality day and after school care in low-income communities. At each Kids Cafe site, healthy meals and snacks are served to needy children in a safe, nurturing environment. Children in Kids Cafe also often receive tutoring assistance, participate in sports, and benefit from mentoring. The Nutrition Director at the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank works closely with participating agencies such as after school programs, day care centers, community centers and youth centers to insure that children get the support they need to excel through Kids Cafe.


During the summer, many children struggle with hunger because federal school meal programs are not operating. To combat this problem, the Food Bank provides hot lunches to the students who qualify for reduced price or free lunches during the school year through the Kids Cafe Summer Food Service Program (SFSP)."

LA COUNTY ORDERS CITY OF LA TO CLEAN UP SKID ROW - HEALTH CODE VIOLATIONS!

"The city of Los Angeles is violating the county health code in its Skid Row area by allowing the nation's densest population of homeless people to live on streets infested with rats, human excrement and used hypodermic needles, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has found.

An extensive agency inspection of the downtown district found nearly 90 rats' nests, mostly around street planters, people living in about 60 tents on sidewalks — some with animals — and 90 piles of human waste. The inspection last month focused on eight blocks of the 10-block district. On one block alone, close to 30 piles of excrement were noted."

"The city says the order is making it difficult to clean up the area as sanitation workers are not sure what is personal property and what is trash. Meanwhile, nearby businesses and residents have complained about the proliferation of furniture and shopping carts and people living in tents as police have stopped removing tents due to the order."

IS THAT SECTION 8 VOUCHER YOURS OR NOT? PALO VERDE APARTMENTS SCANDAL HEATING UP - RESIDENTS JERKED AROUND - LINK TO HOWARD BERMAN'S OFFICE HERE!

OUTRAGEOUS! BUT THEN WHAT CAN WE EXPECT DEALING WITH MEGALOMANIACS WHO ARE GOING TO REINVENT THE LAW AS THEY GO?

We've learned that some residents of the Palo Verde Apartments in Sun Valley, commonly refered to as "Glen Oaks," where a number of residents of Los Angeles Family Housing shelter and other programs were placed thanks to CITY OF LOS ANGELES SECTION 8 VOUCHERS or various mental health programs including COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES were told to give back their vouchers or they have 30 days to go find somewhere else to live. Let's say it again: These people are NO LONGER HOMELESS having made it into the building using section 8 vouchers but according to management, IF THEY GIVE UP THEIR VOUCHERS UNDER THREAT OF 30 DAYS NOTICE they get to stay. Then they get to pay rent directly. IF THEY DON'T GIVE UP THEIR VOUCHERS they will be EVICTED, repeating the cycle of homelessness.

So apparently a non profit that exists to "end the cycle of homelessness" and which receives donations from numerous donors, and accepts funds from various governmental sources is not fulfilling their mission statement. Instead they are brain fucking.

(Are they hoping to get the stat of having placed TWO homeless people into housing with ONE VOUCHER?)

We want to remind everyone involved that homeless people and once homeless people do have CIVIL RIGHTS and we strongly urge you to contact the MAYOR, who makes many photo-op stops at the shelter, HOWARD BERMAN (we've linked to his information and a map showing these issues are occuring in his district), HUD, FAIR EMPLOYMENT and HOUSING of the SAN FERNANDO VALLEY, as well as lawyers. In fact calling City of LA Section 8 is probably a first step, but with so little time and these frightening intimidating TACTICS, calling all of them is the next thing to do.

(Go to the bottom of this blog for the link beneath our YouTube station that will give you the names and addresses of all your politicians!)
We've learned from multiple sources that PANIC and BITTERNESS SET IN RIGHT AWAY. SECTION 8 VOUCHER HOLDERS HAVE ALREADY GONE THROUGH THE PAPERWORK AND APPROVAL PROCESS with the CITY OF LOS ANGELES or the COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES. THESE PEOPLE MOVED IN ALREADY. THEY ARE IN THE APARTMENTS USING THE FURNITURE, BEDDING, TOWELS, AND BODY LOTION DONATED BY IKEA! THEY ARE PAYING THEIR RENT PORTION. THEY WERE TOLD THEY HAD TO STAY A YEAR TO MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF SECTION 8 PROGRAMS.

WHO IS PLAYING GOD - GIVING AND TAKING AWAY THIS TIME? (We've heard some names. Should we break the news or let the press? Or will LAFH continue to depend on the yellow journalism of those Reporters who went on a little tour and were told humanitarian tales , those reporters that never report anything but the do good feel good side of the rotten story?)

WHO IS SCREWING WITH THE MINDS AND THE HEALTH AND WELFARE OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE ALREADY BEEN THROUGH ENOUGH EMPTY PROMISES?

Who is only interested in mortgages for buildings that were not constructed on solid business principles? Who only cares about statistics rather than human beings that non profits claim to serve. Who only cares how they look to donators and HUD? Is it true they just want to be in good with HUD to break ground for yet another building? Who actually expects people to give their vouchers back in order to pay the building rent directly? Who will these turned in vouchers be given to next?

Some of these previously homeless residents lived in shelter hell conditions with promises being made to them that if they were good campers they would reach the goal of housing. Some of these people waited for much longer than a year till the Section 8 program was unfrozen. Some were jerked around about receiving RAPID REHOUSING funds for security deposits. Then Rapid Rehousing funds were given out indiscriminately to management favorites - thousands to certain individuals - no money to others. These previously homeless residents were told that their deposit money would go with them when they move, that if they put a year in at "Glen Oaks," they could then go ahead and move into a Section 8 apartment elsewhere.

PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS!

STREETS OF PHILADEPHIA - BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN

HEADING FOR A HOMELESS SHELTER? HERE'S WHAT TO DO AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!

Some shelters won't take you if you don't have these things BEFORE YOU DO INTAKE! Other's will give you some time once they take you in, but you should do these things as soon as possible!

MAILING AND PRIVACY ISSUES : The biggest obstacle for a street homeless person is not having a mailing address, which is why the shelter address is what you're waiting on. Check though to see if there are any places in your area that provide MAIL services for homeless.

One possibility is mail to your STORAGE UNIT. ASK, we have heard of it being done.

If you are homeless and are using a friend's mail box, tell any social services you register with that this is the case or they may not believe you are actually homeless. (We know of one intake/shelter that requires you have a letter from someone who you've been living with stating that they can no longer keep you and one night on the street!)

(CAUTION : Some shelters have bulk mail and someone on staff is the "mail carrier" who gets to see who you are getting e-mail from. (Likewise, some shelters have computers but you can't use them and have confidentiality. Can you use e-mail from another location?)

YOUR PICTURE ID: A picture ID doesn't always have to be a drivers license. Sometimes it can be a school or gym membership card or a bus pass with your picture on it. If your picture is you and looks like you and is fairly recent (within a year or two) maybe that will work. A passport, even if it's expired should work. DON'T SUBMIT A FAKE ID. Eagle eye case managers are usually smart about this and if you're young looking they're not going to risk taking you in underage.

OTHER FORMS OF IDENTIFICATION: Say you lost your wallet or got robbed and you now having nothing on you. CALL YOUR DMV and report this right away. Our experience with the DMV is that they are often willing to deal with homeless, such as setting up a payment plan for registration. Ask for a PRINT OUT that you can use until you get new plastic. Case Managers may be able to give you a letter stating that you are in their program to verify an address of the program and that you need reduced fees.

One of our friends told them he was living in his van and showed his Social Security check and disability evidence and they gave him time to pay.

GR and other SOCIAL SERVICES THROUGH GOVERNMENT AGENCIES : YOU CAN PICK UP GR RELATED MAIL AT THEIR OFFICE. Shelters often expect you to agree to let them know what income you're getting. IN SOME PLACES GR IS THE FIRST PLACE YOU SHOULD GO IF YOU NEED SHELTER BECAUSE THEY MAY PAY FOR YOUR FIRST TWO WEEKS IN A SHELTER.

YOUR BIRTH CERTIFICATE : Usually used to verify you are who you are for housing and other government funded benefits. There are fees involved.

TB TEST : Shelters are concerned about the spread of TB in close quarters at shelters especially because of the previous use of needles for street drugs and HIV, which can make getting TB pretty easy. Some require a TB test. Strange but true, we found out that while some expect the test, they don't necessarily expect it to be negative. Positive and in treatment will usually be good enough.

Shelters know that homeless are often without papers. Ask them if they can help you get these papers.

UPDATE AUGUST 2013 - THIS POST WILL ALSO BE ON OUR SIDEBAR ALONG WITH OTHER INFORMATION!

HOMELESS MAN FIGHTING FOR HIS LIFE AFTER 80% OF HIS FACE WAS EATEN OFF - YOUR PRAYERS ARE NEEDED

But you might be praying that this man who was attacked will die.

"The unidentified victim is currently fighting for his life in intensive care at Miami’s Jackson Memorial Hospital hospital, after (Rudy) Eugene chewed off up to 80 per cent of his face, including his nose and eyes, in what hospital spokesperson called "some of the worst [injuries] staff had ever encountered."This news went around the world.

Linking to one of the news reports to hit the media, this one from the United Kingdom.

SOUJOURN SERVICES FOR BATTERED WOMEN AND THEIR CHILDREN includes SAFEHOME mail forwarding program and TRACIE TEEN HELP

Founded in 1977, all services are free of charge and includes services for the Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendering, and Gay communities. We know some of you are afraid to become homeless by leaving an abusive home, and we know some of you are homeless and are being abused by street boyfriends or men who live in the same shelter you do and are not getting the help of any case managers. We know some of you are getting beat up by other women.

24 hour hotline (310) 264-6644

PHYSICAL ABUSE IS JUST ONE ASPECT. COERCIVE CONTROL, MANIPULATION, STALKING, and EMOTIONAL ABUSE hurt too, if not more. Abusive people, wherever you know them, are often jealous, controlling, overly critical, and want to isolate you from support. "DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HAPPENS IN THE LESBIAN COMMUNITY AS OFTEN AS IN STRAIGHT COMMUNITY. It doesn't stop because you are pregnant.

Childrens Program, Social Services Advocacy, English and Spanish.

SAFEHOME is the Secretary of State's confidential mail forwarding program for victims of abuse and stalking. Enroll by calling (310) 264-6644.

TRACIE is Soujourn's teen relationship expert. email to asktracie@opcc.net

NAMI - NATIONAL ALLIANCE ON MENTAL ILLNESS : SUPPORT FOR FAMILIES

NAMI offers programs that include SUPPORT GROUPS, 12 week courses for family caregivers, peer to peer groups and a speaker series for people and their family members and partners who are suffering from Major Depression, Schizophrenia, Manic Depression, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Panic Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and (pleeeeese!) Borderline Personality Disorder (what you may be diagnosed with when they can't figure out anything else?)

We think there is a lot of over diagnosis and misdiagnosis, and that for instance, "personality disorders" are sometimes just part of the whole "everyone is diagnosable and everyone is medicatable" psychology b.s.

(What unlicensed but practicing as an MFCC person is known as the King or Queen of Personality Disorders operating out of a homeless clinic in the San Fernando Valley and delivering reports to shelters?)

Some people really are mentally ill, maybe you, maybe a family member, maybe someone who is homeless as a result, or maybe you're homeless because you went broke trying to save somebody who can't be saved? Maybe malingering by your medical care people or living on the street or a shelter made you crazy?

So you can call (818) 994-6747 in the San Fernando Valley or Santa Clarita, or link here to their site and found out how and if NAMI help you.

Among the "suspicious" behaviors that might indicated Major mental illness include withdrawal from society or isolation, confused or delusional thinking, hallucinations, strange or grandiose ideas, prolonged or severe depression (warning, ads on TV paid for by pharmacutical companies would suggest this is more than 2 weeks of depression - more bs!), excessive anxiety (are they even considering the situation you're living in - who decides what is "excessive?), mood swings (ditto), suicidal thoughts or behavior, changes in appetite, sleep disturbances (ever try sleeping in a shelter?), increased use of alcohol or drugs (self medicating).

OK, if your brother or sister are on the street with a mental illness (often schizophrenia) you may need this group.

SEALS AND CROFTS - WE MAY NEVER PASS THIS WAY AGAIN

BUTTERFLY MOBILE PROJECT FOR OUR HOMELESS CHILDREN

THERE ARE 6 PARTS TO THIS PROJECT. FIRST THE TOP OF THE MOBILE WHICH IS THE CIRCLE... Make ONE of these. Print out this image, blow up with a photocopier, color and then paste on cardboard and let it dry!

Make FIVE of the butterflies. Color them! Be creative! Paste them on cardboard too. They can be different sizes. Blow them up or make them smaller on a photocopier.

Attach each butterfly to the top of the mobile with string. You can use a sewing needle - or let your mother, father, or teacher do it for you? Maybe you can punch holes around the circle and tie them on.

WHERE WILL YOU HANG YOUR MOBILE? In a tree? Near your bed in the shelter? From the rear view mirror of the van? Or some other special place?

ZIMBABWE - UKRAINE - MALAYSIA - BANGLADESH - RUSSIA - SINGAPORE -

SOUTH KOREA - JAMAICA - CANADA - UNITED KINGDOM - BRAZIL - CHILI - ISRAEL - JAPAN - FRANCE!

You've been reading EXPOSE HOMELESSNESS! CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT HOMELESSNESS IN YOUR COUNTRY?

ANYONE CAN LEAVE A COMMENT WITHOUT HAVING A SPECIAL ACCOUNT!

MY FRIENDS PLACE HOLLYWOOD

"Because of their traumatic childhoods homeless youth do not readily accept help. Building rapport is the key factor in developing successful life-transitioning strategies for them. Trust is our most valuable commodity. Our ultimate goal is to increase each youth's ability to meet their basic physical and emotional needs, identify and connect each youth to relevant community resources, and rebuild each youth's self-esteem, self-respect, and self-sufficiency."

OK THE WORD ON THE STREET IS THAT THESE PEOPLE ARE PRETTY COOL! Take it from some adults who were abused as teens and who were homeless a long long time before they turned to someone or some place for help.

If you're a teen runaway and you're reading this, we think this may be a good place to give it a try and cut your time on the street. Every day of your life counts!

UDATE  SEPTEMBER 2014... We'll be posting on MILEY CYRUS's activism for this organization...  they're getting lots of funding so if you're reading this.... head on over there!

MY FRIENDS PLACE ORG  link   link checked  2015

http://myfriendsplace.org/who-we-are/contact-us/

Location:
5850 Hollywood Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90028

Phone:
(323) 908-0011
1-888-YOUTH-50

Hours of Operation:
9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Monday through Friday

BUTTERFLY

DOES YOUR SHELTER EXPECT YOU TO WORK FOR CASH OR LESS THAN MINIMUM WAGE? SHITTY EMPLOYERS YOU CAN DO WITHOUT!

We've heard that some shitty employers are calling employment centers at homeless shelters expecting homeless to work for them for less than minimum wage, sometimes for cash, sometimes paying $25 for a whole day of standing in the sun holding up a sign for their rental properties or other business, sometimes expecting them to do other menial jobs like breaking apart cars for a wrecking yard, or sweeping up at a construction site. Sometimes expecting them to usher or otherwise "work" at conventions.

WE KNOW YOU NEED THE MONEY. What you don't need:

You don't need a job you can't list on a resume or a job that will provide no good reference.

You don't need to violate the terms and conditions of your GR, SSI, SSDI, or UNEMPLOYMENT!

You don't need to be injured on the job and have no Workman's Comp insurance.

YOU SHOULD NOT FEEL PRESSURED TO TAKE THIS KIND OF WORK TO IMPRESS CASE MANAGEMENT!

What to do if you are being forced to work for free or less than minimum wage? REPORT IT!

YOUNG GIRLS BEING TRAFFICKED THROUGH LOS ANGELES - MTA ON BOARD - REPORT SEX SLAVERY!

METRO - LOS ANGELES COUNTY PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SERVICE is announcing that there is a new number to call if you know or suspect that someone is being trafficked through Los Angeles.

Take this number down and carry it with you!
888.950. SAFE (LINK FOR MORE INFORMATION HERE)

Almost one million people - mostly young girls - are trafficked against their will each year. An increasing number are being trafficked right here across LA COUNTY.

A young person may appear fearful or depressed and is not on her own... is being closely watched so that she can't flee... does not have any possessions such as her paperwork (ID, INS card etc.) or money... May show signs of physical abuse.

Everyday, in small towns and big cities in countries throughout the world, women and girls are being trafficked into a horrible life of sexual slavery. Often tricked into traveling for work, these women face unendurable pain and humiliation. They are stripped of their human rights. They are bought and sold like objects. They are trapped in a life of degradation and abuse.

BUTTERFLY

UP WITH WOMEN - HOMELESS LIST

We're always thinking, how can we give support, information, tell our homeless brothers and sisters that they are not as alone as they feel?

So we found this site called UP WITH WOMEN.

Did you know that Hilary Swank, Joan Rivers, Debbie Reynolds, Sally Jesse Raphael, Ella Fitzgerald, Rose McGowan, Lil Kim, Eartha Kitt, Kelly Clarkson, and Halle Berry, now famous for their accomplishments as singers and actors, experienced different degrees of homelessness?

The lists don't stop there! Linking here to UP WITH WOMEN!

BEING POOR BY JOHN SCALZI - AN OLD POST BUT IT SAYS SO MUCH!

BEING POOR BY JOHN SCALZI (linked)
September 3, 2005

Being poor is knowing exactly how much everything costs.

Being poor is getting angry at your kids for asking for all the crap they see on TV.

Being poor is having to keep buying $800 cars because they’re what you can afford, and then having the cars break down on you, because there’s not an $800 car in America that’s worth a damn.

Being poor is hoping the toothache goes away.

Being poor is knowing your kid goes to friends’ houses but never has friends over to yours.

Being poor is going to the restroom before you get in the school lunch line so your friends will be ahead of you and won’t hear you say “I get free lunch” when you get to the cashier.

Being poor is living next to the freeway.

Being poor is coming back to the car with your children in the back seat, clutching that box of Raisin Bran you just bought and trying to think of a way to make the kids understand that the box has to last.

Being poor is wondering if your well-off sibling is lying when he says he doesn’t mind when you ask for help.

Being poor is off-brand toys.

Being poor is a heater in only one room of the house.

Being poor is knowing you can’t leave $5 on the coffee table when your friends are around.

Being poor is hoping your kids don’t have a growth spurt.

Being poor is stealing meat from the store, frying it up before your mom gets home and then telling her she doesn’t have make dinner tonight because you’re not hungry anyway.

Being poor is Goodwill underwear.

Being poor is not enough space for everyone who lives with you.

Being poor is feeling the glued soles tear off your supermarket shoes when you run around the playground.

Being poor is your kid’s school being the one with the 15-year-old textbooks and no air conditioning.

Being poor is thinking $8 an hour is a really good deal.

Being poor is relying on people who don’t give a damn about you.

Being poor is an overnight shift under florescent lights.

Being poor is finding the letter your mom wrote to your dad, begging him for the child support.

Being poor is a bathtub you have to empty into the toilet.

Being poor is stopping the car to take a lamp from a stranger’s trash.

Being poor is making lunch for your kid when a cockroach skitters over the bread, and you looking over to see if your kid saw.

Being poor is believing a GED actually makes a goddamned difference.

Being poor is people angry at you just for walking around in the mall.

Being poor is not taking the job because you can’t find someone you trust to watch your kids.

Being poor is the police busting into the apartment right next to yours.

Being poor is not talking to that girl because she’ll probably just laugh at your clothes.

Being poor is hoping you’ll be invited for dinner.

Being poor is a sidewalk with lots of brown glass on it.

Being poor is people thinking they know something about you by the way you talk.

Being poor is needing that 35-cent raise.

Being poor is your kid’s teacher assuming you don’t have any books in your home.

Being poor is six dollars short on the utility bill and no way to close the gap.

Being poor is crying when you drop the mac and cheese on the floor.
Being poor is knowing you work as hard as anyone, anywhere.

Being poor is people surprised to discover you’re not actually
stupid.

Being poor is people surprised to discover you’re not actually lazy.

Being poor is a six-hour wait in an emergency room with a sick child asleep on your lap.

Being poor is never buying anything someone else hasn’t bought first.

Being poor is picking the 10 cent ramen instead of the 12 cent ramen because that’s two extra packages for every dollar.

Being poor is having to live with choices you didn’t know you made when you were 14 years old.

Being poor is getting tired of people wanting you to be grateful.

Being poor is knowing you’re being judged.

Being poor is a box of crayons and a $1 coloring book from a community center Santa.

Being poor is checking the coin return slot of every soda machine you go by.

Being poor is deciding that it’s all right to base a relationship on shelter.

Being poor is knowing you really shouldn’t spend that buck on a Lotto ticket.

Being poor is hoping the register lady will spot you the dime.

Being poor is feeling helpless when your child makes the same mistakes you did, and won’t listen to you beg them against doing so.

Being poor is a cough that doesn’t go away.

Being poor is making sure you don’t spill on the couch, just in case you have to give it back before the lease is up.

Being poor is a $200 paycheck advance from a company that takes $250 when the paycheck comes in.

Being poor is four years of night classes for an Associates of Art degree.

Being poor is a lumpy futon bed.

Being poor is knowing where the shelter is.

Being poor is people who have never been poor wondering why you choose to be so.

Being poor is knowing how hard it is to stop being poor.

Being poor is seeing how few options you have.

Being poor is running in place.

Being poor is people wondering why you didn’t leave.

BUTTERFLIES