The woman told police she had been living inside the grocery store sign for roughly a year, and had been able to get electricity
The woman told police she had been living inside the grocery store sign for roughly a year, and had been able to get electricity
She could always go to a homeless shelter where you’re surrounded by crazy hostile energy and shitty staff. I used to roll my eyes when people at the shelter would say things like, “This place will destroy your soul.” I was just happy to have a bed and roof over my head.
But when staff keeps makes disparaging remarks under their breath, throwing your fragile possessions around for fun (you can’t say anything or risk getting kicked out), doing shit like waiting until it’s lights-out and we’re sleeping to loudly take out the trash in the dorms, being rude to you if you interact with them… it really eats at you.
And everybody acts like you’re subhuman and don’t deserve basic respect. You have to be thankful! Gotta appreciate what you get! How dare you ask to be treated with BASIC HUMAN DECENCY.
I used to appreciate the help when I thought they were helping me out of the kindness of their heart. But now I know you pay for everything.
My first job out of college, I worked in a homeless shelter for kids. It was an eye-opening experience, but I never met a staff member who didn’t bring compassion and decency to the job. Not saying that those people don’t exist, and with the payscale for the job being what it is, you don’t attract the best people with money. I can only imagine it’s worse in the adult shelters, but you don’t last long in that job if you don’t have a passion for helping people.
I will say that the worst part about it were the parents. Some of these kids never had a chance, never had love, never had people looking out for them, and most of the parents I met should not have had kids at all. And then we had the parents who would bring their kids in like we were a daycare, or a punishment. They would get dropped off with a suitcase, in the middle of a bluff being called on one side or the other.
We would just start the paperwork, get the kids a snack and any toiletries they left behind, while their parents would scream at them (and at us) “You see what its like? You see what happens when you don’t listen?”
Ok, any allergies? “She’s going to learn respect!”
Sure, hopefully someday from someone she hasn’t met yet, but for today I just need to know if she’s taking medications. “I’m not kidding, you don’t like it at home, you can stay here all weekend!”
Ma’am, I need you to keep it down, we have a movie on in the common room and you’re upsetting the actually homeless children who are trying to forget that their existence is so depressing, you’re trying to use it to abuse your kids.