Homeless

A mentally ill woman becomes homeless waiting for aid

Homeless

 

January 2010

 

Helen McAllister looked at the eviction notice on her door. She knew it was coming. She only had five hundred dollars in her account. She was denied for disability again after appealing. She had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder three years ago. She had bouts of depression and it was hard keeping a job. She quit her last job because of a serious bout of depression that landed her in the hospital. She got rid of most of her things and had ARC pick up her books and dishes and most of her clothes. She went to Dave’s Sporting goods and picked up a camp stove, sleeping bag and back pack. She also had a suitcase with wheels. She let herself have ten books. She figured she could go to the library for any books she missed. The notice said she had three days. After that she could stay at a motel for a week and then she was on her own. Her father died of colon cancer ten years ago. Her mother died five years ago of lung cancer. Her only sister died of breast cancer a year ago. She had no other family in town. She left her church a year ago after a really bad bout of depression. No one from the church contacted her. She couldn’t afford to go to California or somewhere else where it was warm so she researched women’s shelters in the city. She paid up her phone and got a temporary one in case she couldn’t pay for her phone anymore. The medication she was on wasn’t working so she could leave that. She contacted Legal Aid and tried to get help with her disability claim. She didn’t get anywhere with that. She contacted a lawyer who was willing to appeal the denial. She told him she was going to be homeless and gave him her cell number. She hoped something could be done soon.

The motel was near downtown Denver. It was called MI Casa Motor Inn. She paid for a week. She bought a map of Denver and mapped out motels and women’s shelters in the area. There were only three women’s shelters in the area. They were on the outskirts of the metro Denver area. Helen took her last one hundred dollars and bought bus tickets and tokens. There was a major snow storm during the week she was in the motel. She was glad she had a place to sleep. She didn’t know what she would do if it snowed like that again. The bus station was nearby she figured she could stay there. There was also a laundromat no too far from downtown. She dropped off all her medical records at the lawyer’s and headed downtown.

Early in the morning Helen met homeless people like herself on the Sixteenth-Street Mall. She didn’t panhandle. She had some money for food for now. Out of curiosity she did rummage through some garbage cans near some restaurants and found some decent food. She figured she would use cash for the bus or for a stay in a motel if it got really cold outside. She met a homeless veteran called Max panhandling outside the McDonald’s. He lost two legs in the Gulf War. He didn’t have family either. Then there was Sally. She lived in her car and offered Helen a place to stay if it got too cold out. She had a membership at 24-hour fitness and had a part-time job. There were also quite a few homeless teens. One teen was homeless because he was gay and his parents kicked him out. Other girls were homeless because of sexual abuse at home. One teen, called Sparks, was still in high school and sometimes stayed with friends or Sally. The month went by and seemed to get colder and colder.

 

February 2010

               

                The first week of February brought record cold temperatures. Helen was forced to stay with Sally for the weekend. Even in a heated car it was very cold. Sally couldn’t keep the heat on all night because that would eat the battery and gas. Helen stayed a few nights at the bus station but was told to leave when she was asked to show a ticket. Helen kept clean by being a guest of Sally’s at 24-hour fitness or washing in the bathroom at the library. She tried not to have that homeless look about her and tried to take care of herself. It was hard because she would get very depressed at times. At times Helen did panhandle to get cash for the dollar menu at McDonald’s or coffee. One night it was very cold and Helen couldn’t walk any further. She camped out by Cherry Creek. She usually stayed up at night and slept in the early morning hours but this night was very cold. Sally was nowhere to be seen so Helen put up her tent. In the middle of the night Helen was startled to find a man crawling on top of her. She screamed so loud her throat hurt and she kicked her legs really hard until the man fled from the pop tent. It was about 3 in the morning and Helen was terrified. She left her tent and got her gear and ran until she made it to the laundromat. She stayed there until sunrise and then left. One thing she learned is not to be in one place for a long time or one could attract police.

 

March 2010

 

                Before she lost her apartment she set up a P.O. Box to receive mail. It was mostly for her disability claim. She checked it every week but received nothing. She used her temporary phone to call the lawyer. He said he filed the appeal but he hadn’t heard from the judge yet. The attack on her really spooked Helen and she never spent nights sleeping anymore. She still had a checking account but there was just the minimum amount in it. Helen’s depressions were getting worse and closer together. She oftentimes didn’t take care of herself. She felt invisible and an eyesore. She knew people were staring but she no longer cared. She kept moving so no one would arrest her. There were times when she lost track of time, though. Then she would be asked to move on or leave. When she was at one of the women’s shelters a social worker hooked Helen up with food stamps. She received money on an EBT card after a couple weeks. That really helped because Helen could go to the grocery store for food. Helen told the social worker how she was off meds and severely depressed. She told her that she was waiting for a Social Security Disability claim but it was a slow process. The social worker told Helen that she would try to find a place where Helen could stay until her SSDI claim went through.

 

April 2010

  

The weather was better but Helen’s depressions were getting worse. She started to stay at a park in Glendale because no one bothered her there. No one went to this park. After several days a police officer told her to leave the park. She went downtown and tried to get in touch with her lawyer. The lawyer said that it would be soon that he would hear from the judge. Helen went to one of the three shelters and stayed the night. In the morning one of the volunteers offered to wash her clothes and let her take a shower. She noticed Helen’s emotional state and offered to call the hospital. Helen refused. She just needed a place to stay for a few days. The volunteer gave her money to stay in a motel for a few days. Helen swallowed her pride and took the money. She stayed at MI Casa’s again. While there her lawyer called and said her claim went through. He said it would be several weeks before the money would be mailed to her. He would collect his fee out of that. He verified her P.O. Box and said he would also mail the judgement. Helen wondered how she would get housing. She contacted the social worker who got her the food stamps before. The social worker found a boarding house that she could stay at while she waited for her claim to pay out. She was given a voucher to pay for her room until she got her money.

 

March 2010

 

Helen knew her depression was bad so she went to Denver Health to get medication. Since she was homeless and on SSDI she was able to find a psychiatrist who prescribed her medication. After several weeks she felt better. She worked with the social worker to sign up for Section 8 housing. She stayed at the boarding house until she was able to get some housing. It was a relief to get off the streets. She was able to stay clean and go to the library to get on the computer and read books. The owner of the boarding house was very kind and made coffee for her in the morning. She cried over all the things she had to give to be homeless. All her books and videos and nice clothes were gone. She was glad to be getting into an apartment again. She could shop and get nice clothes and books.

 

June 2010

Helen finally moved into her apartment. She was so excited. It was in Five Points and close to downtown. She bought new clothes and household items at the local Goodwill. She was feeling a lot better from her medication. Being homeless taught her to appreciate little things like sleeping in one’s own bed and having nice clothes. She still talked to her homeless friends and helped them out when the weather was cold. Sparks stayed with her at times and graduated high school and got into CU. She would run into Sally and Max at McDonald’s at times. They would chat and catch up. Helen wouldn’t wish homelessness on her worst enemy. The loss of one’s dignity is astounding.