So we got kicked out of the shelter and we don’t know where to go from here
Hello all it’s us again, I’ve been putting this off for a minute because things have been all over the place. Honestly I never thought I’d have to make this post and even though this all transpired months ago it still feels crazy knowing after all we’ve been through this is how we left. Since our last post things have gotten so much worse. My partners health was deteriorating so bad in the shelter and after two more hospitalizations which we’re still being billed for, we’ve had to move them back into their abusive mothers apartment. I had been going back and forth from the shelter to her for about 2-3 back in July taking care of them while sleeping at the shelter and signing the bed roster for the both of us.
For those who may not be familiar with the NYC DHS in temporary and permanent living shelters all residents are required to sign a nightly bed roster to track their attendance as well as log every time they leave and come back to the shelter during the day. If you miss signing for three days consistently be it whatever reason you get “ logged out “ and your locked out of the shelter while your belongings are packed and out on the curb. Every member of the household has to sign for themselves and even one member missing days can result in the whole family getting evicted. Only through medical exemption can someone sign for you. I had issues last year with my top surgery where I still forced to sign even though I had medical exemption and it caused complications to my recovery.
I had shown my partners discharge papers to the social workers 10 times and constantly informed them on his deteriorating health. They were suffering mal nutrition and unable to breathe in the shelter. It was weeks of not being able to eat or sleep and severe asthma attacks and seizures. The air quality was terrible and there was a huge roach and mold infestation which greatly aggravated their allergies and asthma. We ended up having to pay for an air purifier and even still the air quality didn’t improve.
At the beginning of August they found out I’d been signing while my partner wasn’t actually sleeping at the shelter and started marking out my signature with whiteout in the roster to give means of logging us out. They’ve consistently done this to other residents for whatever they saw fit even though it’s ilegal. On the 11th we were logged out and our stuff had been thrown into to plastic bags and tossed on the curb and in the basement, even though we’d told them the day before we would pack up our things ourself. I had to get informed by my neighbor that they’d come into our room while we were gone and started packing.
Seeing our stuff put into plastic bags again and tossed aside was honestly so retraumatizing, like having all your possessions just handled like this and tossed out makes you feel so disposable. I could barely keep it together when we got back to the shelter and saw this. We had to put everything in our storage unit and we weren’t compensated for the car fare like we were entitled to and it completely put me into overdraft.
It took 4 days of sorting through the bags and reorganizing everything. Throwing out all the garbage that was mixed in and so aging through what was damaged from our belongings. It cost us 480$ in cars fare alone just going back and forth to the unit and even put me and my partner into overdraft and drained our savings again. We were also behind two months of payment on the unit we had to pay the 260$ to cover the balance just get back into our stuff.
Days 1-4 of sorting through it all
A good amount of my makeup was broken. ( also bottles of hair toner and developer had spilled and got into allot of it as well ) I’m a cosmetologist and I’ve had to start taking clients when I can again and not having my full kit is seriously costing me. I’m still looking for work outside of the small hair and makeup gigs I get here and there but no luck since the pandemic started. I’m still waiting to here back from the census again. And hopefully I’ll be able to start my home health aid training while we’re staying at our friends place.
In regards to where we’re staying now we couldn’t stay with their mother for too long since she also had a roach infestation in her apartment so we’ve been staying with a friend in Brooklyn since September started. Their lease is ending soon and they’ll be looking for a new place so our goal Is to get jobs and start working soon and hopefully find a means of finding two rooms to rent out with our friend. I can’t handle going back through the shelter system again. My partner was dying slowly and it was just too much to bare. I cant go back to the first shelter we stayed in again in Brooklyn either I just can’t.
I know it’s been hard for everyone these days and there’s so many people with posts going around but please any help we can get would be greatly appreciated.
750$ - we spent from our savings getting our stuff to storage
190$ - to get out of overdraft
300$ - to replace my broken makeup
1800$ - for our last hospital bill.
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Just got Venmo. It's like my phone and my wallet had a beautiful baby!
again I’m really sorry I have to keep making these, I’ve been homeless ever since I was 18 and It’s been the hardest phase of my entire life thus far even though I’m literally only 20 lmao 🙃 I’ve also kept tags on everything we’ve put up with just search for the tag #mydhs on my blogif you need more information.
I’ve tagged all the donation posts I’ve made since with first one back in 2018 as well just accounts of shit that’s happened. Trigger warnings for frequent mentions of domestic/sexual assaul, mentions of hard drug use.
