My husband and I went to Las Vegas, chasing big dreams of a better life there... But our dreams were quickly shattered when the job offers we had fell through and we became homeless on those hot and cold streets.
While homeless there, we had no money to take busses. So we were stuck walking, with 2 duffel bags and 2 bookbags full of clothes and important items to us. The first two nights, we slept under a willow tree down the street from the Neon Sign Museum, and we were next to a crematorium. During the day, it was hot, sticky weather. But during the night, it gets to be pretty cold. Think of a cold 25-30 degree day in Pennsylvania in December and January. And we had nothing to keep warm but the clothes on our backs, a discarded sheet we ended up finding, and we slept on an old sign that had been on the side of the road.Â
We did think about going to a shelter, but when we heard that we would be separated, we decided against it. We passed this abandoned hotel down the street from where we slept as we walked to the 7-11 for coffee to warm our muscles and stretch ourselves out. This hotel was condemned for the many murders, prostitution, and drug deals that went on while it was open. But attached to the hotel, there was an outdoor homeless shelter.Â
I was the one who mentioned going there, just to charge our phones and get a little rest, but my husband wasnât so keen on the idea. We had gone to the Catholic Charities in the same area that Friday, to get a card we needed in order to go to the soup kitchen and eat.Â
That night, we went back to the willow tree. My husband dozed off and I was about to do the same, until I heard someone walking along the grass. I turned quietly to see someone sitting just behind the willow tree leaves, lighting up a crack pipe. I was able to wake my husband up and make sure he stayed quiet while we watched this guy smoke his crack, then get up and walk off. It was then we decided to check out the homeless shelter the next day.
The next morning came, and we made our way to the 7-11 for a coffee before going to the shelter. We had just enough money to get by with a couple coffees until we figured out a way to get the hell out of there and get back home. When we made it to the shelter, there was a row of port-a-johns with hand washing stations, a pavilion area for shade, an area under the condemned hotel where they housed animals in cages. There was a small pavilion with extension cords so people could charge their phones.Â
For the first time in the 2 days, we were able to finally sit down and take a breather without having to be chased away by cops. Because down there, if you end up sitting on the sidewalk outside of a store or anywhere, and a cop ends up seeing you, they will stop and tell you to keep it moving. We know. It happened to us after we had gone in a store for a drink.
Our bodies ached and our feet were sore and blistered from non stop moving. We plugged our phones in and sat near them, keeping an eye on them. We were told by another person in that shelter not to leave our phones out of our sight because people would come up and pull the cord to pull the phone off the table and they would catch it and steal it to take to Walmart to the cell phone kiosks to get money.Â
My husband and I would take turns going to the bathroom, making sure the other was okay, even though the toilets were in eye sight. They ended up having a van bring a couple pizza pies and sodas for lunch. My husband told me to go wait in line and to get something to eat, and I promised him I would tell them I needed some for him. I was pretty far back in the line, but the line was moving pretty well... But nobody had noticed that there were people who had already gotten a slice of pizza, and then getting back in line, cutting in front of others, to get seconds... Even thirds. So, by the time I managed to get close, they had run out of what they had.Â
I went back to my husband and told him what happened and he said it would be alright, we would figure something out. But there were no soup kitchens open on weekends, and we had no money. But I kept going. We just needed a way out of there. We were not going to stay there...
When night came, we had to line up to get our bags and our person checked. And also had to make sure we had our cards from the Catholic Charities in order to stay the night. As we waited in line, we watched as the staff brought out mats, like the ones they used to use in gym class, and line them under the pavilion and under the hotel. But there was only a certain amount. We got our bags and ourselves checked, were told men slept on the side of the hotel and women slept on the side of the pavilion. We were so scared to leave each other overnight.Â
The one woman was overly friendly with me, saying she could tell we were new to this whole way of living and told me about how the shelter worked. She took me to a mat and said the only way Iâll be able to keep it is if I keep my bags on it or if I stay on it. I wasnât going to keep my bags out of my sight and I wanted to stay with my husband for as long as possible before we would be separated for the night.Â
I went to my husband and sat with him until the staff called for everyone to go to sleep. The security guards made sure to stay awake during the night, and they had guns on them... First time ever seeing a security guard carry an actual gun and not a taser.Â
My husband sat on top of his bags against a wall, and a man gave him a small throw blanket to try and help keep warm during the night. I had lost the mat the woman told me to have, and was forced to sleep on the concrete ground, using my duffel bag as a pillow, my bookbag secured against my chest, and a tattered blanket the woman had given me to try and keep warm. My husband barely slept, as did I.Â
