Berkeley Graduate turned Homeless, Seeking Support

Berkeley CA

Description

I am a UC Berkeley graduate (Class of 2014) and former foster youth who has been chronically homeless since September of 2018 after losing my grandmother and being kicked out of my childhood home when my family found out about my sexual orientation. Since then I have couch-surfed, lived in motels, lived in tents, slept on sidewalks, and been through the wire alongside my six year old, registered emotional support animal, who has been by my side since he was five weeks old. I have had my ups and downs throughout these past few years – just two months prior to the outbreak of the pandemic, I had begun renting my own room and working part-time, and began onboarding for a substitute teaching position with two different school districts before having been furloughed from all three and evicted so that my then-landlord would have a place for her son and his family to stay after he lost his job in the wake of the crisis. COVID-19 brought me right back down to square one and it has been a struggle to lift up from out of this hole of poverty and homelessness, and I am reaching out today in hopes that some of you might be willing to lend some support to my dog and I to help us find our way out of this sooner than later. I have no family to lean on and have had poor experiences with local shelters due to lack of willingness to accommodate my ESA. Two weeks ago, I lost my storage unit for the third time and am having to start over again, yet again. I am always looking for work, and am currently in the process of interviewing with a local non-profit. Aside from this, I would consider myself to be quite the handyman, with a bit of a green thumb, and have experience in hospitality and housekeeping. I can lift at least fifty pounds, I am great with dogs of all sizes and varieties, and generally am open to different types of work that you might have available. Just for transparency – I have utilized 2-1-1 and local organizations such as BACS, Abode, GRIP, BFHP, and others and outside of being referred to emergency shelters and being given a lunch sack, these organizations have not been very helpful to people in my particular circumstance and have not provided me with any potential avenues toward long-term solutions in the three years and six months that I have been homeless. And, seeing as I have long been determined to work in the non-profit and educational sectors, I have been granting these organizations the benefit of the doubt and advocated for them every step of the way – but, unfortunately, they are not nearly as helpful as they are painted out to be, or, funded to be. I am more than willing to discuss this further in person if interested. Thank you for taking the time out to read my post, and thank you in advance to anyone who might be willing to lend some aide and/or offer any opportunities or referrals for work. Having lost my storage units twice, been robbed or stolen from multiple times, had my life and my dog’s life threatened or jeopardized various amounts of times, amongst a number of other unfortunate events that have come with living outside, alongside the circumstances that have led me to being in the current predicament that I am in, I can say that I know what it means to have lost, and/or to have experienced loss, and am more than open to speak with those interested in how I have managed to survive this long whilst staying hopeful – it is always refreshing to have conversations with people outside of this realm of existence. I would have never expected my life to be in the amount of shambles that it is, but am always remaining prayerful, and faithful, and doing my best to be optimistic in the face of it all… I appreciate you all for your willingness to support, and wish everyone well in these trying times. With love and light, always. (I currently reside/float about the East Bay Area, California) Tent/sleeping bags Dog food, sweater (M), harness (M), leash (M), collar (M) Blanket Motel/hotel stays Food (food stamps run out very quickly when one has nowhere to store/cook food) Computer (had both of my HP laptops stolen from me in January alongside my wallet and cellphone) Phone (my current Obamaphone is shattered; would be convenient to have a device with NFC as I still have yet to order new cards since having had my wallet stolen) Socks, underwear, shoes, jackets/hoodies, shirts (10.5 shoe, 30-32 pant size, S/M shirt, underwear size) Backpack Bus passes/Clipper card Hygiene products, toiletries