"Homeless"
Dear xxxxx,
Better than Dear John, I hope anyway. Since this is about me becoming homeless, I don't want Mum to panic, especially if she is fragile herself. So can you judge please - either delete this paragraph and forward to Mum (or ask me to re-send to both), or tell her yourself as and when. Please let me know what you decide!
Sorry I have been out of touch. Getting Internet access hasn't been easy for the last week. I thought I would simply use the computer at the local drop-in centre, but it's been consistently very busy, and it's all you can do to scamble for a few of minutes here and there.
Plus I'm busy preparing to move out. Unfortunately, I will be homeless as of Saturday 11/3. It's awful news, of course, but it has some logic to it as I'll explain. I want to make it clear that I didn't plan this at all, nor do I want to be homeless.
I've been putting off telling you about this for a few days, because my original move-out date was set as November 30th, so I had some time to work things out. But I just got word that the rent tibunal ruled my tenancy terminated right away (since I've owed a similar amount for some time now), and thus they moved the move-out date up to November 3rd.
The Rent Bank didn't work out. I'm sure I caused some problems, but frankly it's a bit of a joke. To recap; first I had to do a 3-page affedavit full of details that needed much revision, then I had to have a bank account (they cannot/will not say why - it is not for depositing money!), then I had to prove my last 3 months income (only way was to wait until I had $10 to pay for a xxxxxxxxxxx statement), and then, and this is the last straw, I had to prove that my monthly expesnses do not exceed my income. Well, that's why I'm in this mess. Anyway, it was simply too late by then. And remember, this was all with the help of my social-professional friend.
There's a fundamental question here - what is it I am fighting to save? A very impoverished life that itself is not even sustainable. This has been coming a long time. All it would take would be any combination of unexpected expenses or losses and unwise budgeting or spending. Again, to be clear; since losing bev's support payments a couple of years back, only a monk could survive on what I get. Even if something like the rent bank worked out, it's still just a question of time again.
And there's one factor that would make all the difference to me - "assisted housing" - our term for rent-geared-to-income 'council housing', as it were. I more than qualify, being disabled and low income. That's the waiting list I've been on for 6 years now; the government itself now says iy's up to 15 years wait to get a place. As an example, I pay close to $600/month rent for my tiny place (3/5 of my income). xxxx (my bipolar friend), has a very nice large 1-bedroom apartment for which she pays $140/month. She got that 10 years ago when the waiting list, for her anyway, was 3 months. That's around $450 per month I could have freed up.
I have heard that in the homeless shelters, they help you to get appropriate housing. Presumably, being homeless increases my priority. I struggle to think of how there can be all that many people worse off than me.
What compunds everything is all the debt I have.
Two points of pain are that I will probably have no choice as to where I end up, and I am losing all my posessions. Henok is holding my guitar and camera, and I'll take the laptop with me and some clothes. It's not that the posessions are worth much, but the sense that everything you gathereed around you to call home is gone all at once.
I'd better finish up - this is only working because xxxxx is here and he's running a wi-fi hotspot app on his mobile phone.
More later,
xxxxxx
Better than Dear John, I hope anyway. Since this is about me becoming homeless, I don't want Mum to panic, especially if she is fragile herself. So can you judge please - either delete this paragraph and forward to Mum (or ask me to re-send to both), or tell her yourself as and when. Please let me know what you decide!
Sorry I have been out of touch. Getting Internet access hasn't been easy for the last week. I thought I would simply use the computer at the local drop-in centre, but it's been consistently very busy, and it's all you can do to scamble for a few of minutes here and there.
Plus I'm busy preparing to move out. Unfortunately, I will be homeless as of Saturday 11/3. It's awful news, of course, but it has some logic to it as I'll explain. I want to make it clear that I didn't plan this at all, nor do I want to be homeless.
I've been putting off telling you about this for a few days, because my original move-out date was set as November 30th, so I had some time to work things out. But I just got word that the rent tibunal ruled my tenancy terminated right away (since I've owed a similar amount for some time now), and thus they moved the move-out date up to November 3rd.
The Rent Bank didn't work out. I'm sure I caused some problems, but frankly it's a bit of a joke. To recap; first I had to do a 3-page affedavit full of details that needed much revision, then I had to have a bank account (they cannot/will not say why - it is not for depositing money!), then I had to prove my last 3 months income (only way was to wait until I had $10 to pay for a xxxxxxxxxxx statement), and then, and this is the last straw, I had to prove that my monthly expesnses do not exceed my income. Well, that's why I'm in this mess. Anyway, it was simply too late by then. And remember, this was all with the help of my social-professional friend.
There's a fundamental question here - what is it I am fighting to save? A very impoverished life that itself is not even sustainable. This has been coming a long time. All it would take would be any combination of unexpected expenses or losses and unwise budgeting or spending. Again, to be clear; since losing bev's support payments a couple of years back, only a monk could survive on what I get. Even if something like the rent bank worked out, it's still just a question of time again.
And there's one factor that would make all the difference to me - "assisted housing" - our term for rent-geared-to-income 'council housing', as it were. I more than qualify, being disabled and low income. That's the waiting list I've been on for 6 years now; the government itself now says iy's up to 15 years wait to get a place. As an example, I pay close to $600/month rent for my tiny place (3/5 of my income). xxxx (my bipolar friend), has a very nice large 1-bedroom apartment for which she pays $140/month. She got that 10 years ago when the waiting list, for her anyway, was 3 months. That's around $450 per month I could have freed up.
I have heard that in the homeless shelters, they help you to get appropriate housing. Presumably, being homeless increases my priority. I struggle to think of how there can be all that many people worse off than me.
What compunds everything is all the debt I have.
Two points of pain are that I will probably have no choice as to where I end up, and I am losing all my posessions. Henok is holding my guitar and camera, and I'll take the laptop with me and some clothes. It's not that the posessions are worth much, but the sense that everything you gathereed around you to call home is gone all at once.
I'd better finish up - this is only working because xxxxx is here and he's running a wi-fi hotspot app on his mobile phone.
More later,
xxxxxx
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