1st thing to mention, if you look above there is a new page for Polls! Please take a moment to read the poll and place your vote on the latest poll whenever you stop by!
The shelter was cold last night! Its the one thing I hate about going there, but the rest of the site is really nice. It’s small, but the food is good, its quiet, we get ice cream, there are games, the volunteers are great!
Another quiet day today. Not much going on. I had a great lunch at a local church, and now I am online. I’m somewhere I can’t use my software so I can’t update the website today again. I don’t have much time available online either. I think that I should be able to do something with the website tomorrow. So check back in a day or two and I’ll have a few more links and things. Sound good?!
It’s kind of a sad time of year for me. Not just Easter season, but the birthday of one of my children is coming up. I have no money to buy anything, and I haven’t seen my kids for two years. The, um, father and I don’t get along. Simply put. It kills me. It really kills me! I dream bad dreams almost every night about my kids, and their father’s abuses to me. My life is taken away by not seeing them. By not being with them, it really does kill me. Honestly, if not for faith in God, I’d be dead. Someday. Life will be better.
@padschicago's blog 
I was homeless before with my four children. Before I became homeless I had my faith in God and after I was homeless I put even more trust and faith in God. Immediately I got busy. I put my children in a new school, and secured childcare for my baby-I continued to go to college. God blessed me with money, food, and bus fare. I say God because I did not ask people for anything. God sent them to me. He led me to what shelter I was suppose to be at-in that shelter the directors were mistreating the people-God blessed me to secure a job throught the executive director of the shelter organization and the people that were mistreating people got fired. Within the span of 2-3 months I went from homeless-to sheltered-to purchasing a car(I got the car before the job/that was another miracle)-to moving into an apartment shelter-to saving up money-to moving into an apartment. Today I am a graduate of Concordia University with a bachelors degree-I live in a four bedroom house in the suburbs with my four children-husband of two years and a with a new baby on the way. My life was not easy and even though I wrote down some events in my life back to back, while I was going through them they didn’t seem to happen so fast. You do not have to spend another year on the streets. Work your faith. The bible says faith without works is dead. You seem positive and motivated-keep that. It seems as though when I helped people, I was helping myself out. Some ideas that may help you pratically: Try to get a medical card from the department of human services. I believe PADS has a place where you can receive mail, if not find out how much a p.o. box is-then believe God. Also once you secure your medical card you may be able to secure housing in an independent living facility, or a nursing home-this can be a first step-sort of like an initial step just to get you off the streets. Then you’ll be in a set location and can build upon that and work from there. The bible says that many are the afflictions of the righteous but God will deliver us out of them all. The psalmist said I have been young and now I am old but I never seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging for bread. Listen everything I recieved, God blessed me with it, like manna from heaven. I went to church and sat as a minister and the people didn’t even know that I was homeless. I didn’t look to people to get me out, I looked to God. Pray and ask God to open up divine doors, specifically made for you. God will bless you with the people that can help you until you are able to become independent. Again I said ask God to open up the door, because when he opens the door these people will be graced by God to give you the support that you need. Today there are so many scams in the world-when God sends someone to assist you after you pray and believe- you will know it is help from him- because they will be committed to helping you help yourself. My lifes mission now is to build a help center that will house over 600 displaced people with onsite services to assist them- this is what I went to college for. I know that my facility will not be ready by the time you need it- but you don’t need me or my facility you serve the same God that blessed me and he is no respecter of persons- meaning he does not prefer me over you. Stay determined-work diligently, stay focused, work your faith and within two years you’ll be sitting in you own house at you own computer writing to someone else about how you made it out and how they can to. If you continue on and fight your way through and don’t take no for an answer -I will look up an see you on television telling the studio audience about what you went through-because people need to see a documentary of what it is like to homeless, in America. Work your faith my way out may not be your way out but there is a way out for you-God has promised to create a way for your escape. Pray-seek him-look for it-and watch him show up!!!
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There is a book I’ve been reading titled Breakfast at Sallys. It’s a man’s account of his life being homeless. He actually started out wealthy and ended up homeless. It’s very good and shows homeless people to be PEOPLE, just like everyone else. I got it at the Chicago Public Library.
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rc is right, there seems to be no way to enter comments to blog categories.
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Can’t find the right click to post an comment to the blog entry. So I posted a comment under a comment. Please forware to the blog author.
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No matter what, get some help to be able to see your kids. Free legal help. Any help. Time flies. They will grow up without you. I did it. You can too. It will be good for both you and your kids. Then do it regularly!
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I saw your notice on CL and thought I would reply, having had some rather unhappy (and sometimes amusing) experience with your current plight. I admire your ability to keep up a positive outlook.
Here are some tangible suggestions: Short of real housing, use of someone’s garage to store your belongings and to sleep in relative safety and privacy in a sleeping bag is something to consider for the coming Spring and Summer. I did that. Maybe that’s a short-term stopgap to consider.
Apparently you have a bicycle. Good move. You don’t necessarily need panniers, which are very expensive and kind of rare. If you get a rear carrier and bungee cords, you can easily strap a bag or backpack on there.
You can get cheap tools for bike repair at dollar stores. A $1 adjustable wrench is very useful.
I can’t imagine having to be away from one’s kids — that must be the hardest part.
I found almost all shelters to be reprehensible and began to avoid them like the plague. Take a look at George Orwell’s book — you can find it published online — “Down and Out in Paris and London.” It is about his time homeless in the 1930s and his account of the crude treatment given the homeless in depression-era London seemed eerily similar to that experienced by the homeless in Chicago and the NW suburbs in 2009 USA.
Why do you even bother to list the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless as a link? They are merely a gaggle of political jobholders, only interested in collecting their paychecks and using the homeless as pawns to advance their left-wing agenda.
Happy to see you started this blog. It shows great initiative on your part. Hope you have a good day.
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