Homelessness a vicious cycle

Many just need a second chance at life

There are many times the main topics of homelessness are ignored or badly judged. Not everyone became homeless by fault of their own. Stories such as mine are not uncommon (when it comes to being) homeless; it’s called domestic violence.

One never knows when this is the cause, but sadly it’s one of the reasons because there are never enough battered women’s shelters or battered men’s shelters available due to lack of funding or extreme lack of donations that force the shelters to close. Sadly, homeless shelters are in the same situation.

What does one do then when it’s illegal to be homeless? There’s really nothing you can do but to struggle. For those who are on the streets, nobody knows whether they broke down emotionally to the point they gave up or if the choice was theirs to actually live outside.

We came from Massachusetts with the hopes of finding an apartment so we could call somewhere home, but we face the same exact challenges here in New Mexico that we faced in Massachusetts. Programs are overwhelmed with a large workload already, and apartments are telling us we have to make more than three times the rent. Jobs tell us we can’t be hired because we don’t have an address and the shelter’s address isn’t good enough because there’s no stability. Homelessness seems to be the vicious cycle of being forced to fail instead of being given hope to succeed.

Many who have never been homeless may never fully understand the challenges. Challenges we face include lying on a cold sidewalk worried if waking up is going to be an option, food because our incomes aren’t three times anything, being beaten or having what little we have left stolen, our health failing because we are in the elements.

We aren’t addicts of anything and I’m a photographer since age 21, but despite my career, I never saw myself being homeless, but then who does? My fiancé can’t work because he can barely see but does have his own income; we both do. It’s not that we refuse help or any offers for apartments, but the apartments offered are so much higher than we can afford and the affordable apartments want three times more than what we receive in our checks.

In Massachusetts we fought for the rights to change domestic violence laws that put us in this situation, and it could take years. We fought to take abandoned buildings and to open them up as homeless shelters or domestic violence shelters, but again there’s not much hope because those buildings can rot away or be turned into luxury condos.

One question: When does the nightmare of homelessness end for my family as well as others who want the change? Seems like in the future or never. Nobody needs to pay our way, but our wish for Christmas is that someone will give us a chance, a chance that was taken from us.