Step 1 — Admit you are homeless.

The stereotypes most of us hold of the homeless are erroneous. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, street people sleeping over grates or under bridges, as well as alcoholics and the drug dependent account for only about 15 percent of the homeless.

For most, homelessness begins with denial. The path from a safe home to the street may take from three to five years. It often begins with “sofa-surfing” — moving from one friend’s place to another until the welcome mat wears out. Or, it may begin with sleeping on the seat of a car. Neither a friend’s couch nor a car are a home. Admitting that you have a problem allows you to deal with it better and faster. As with any malady, effective cures involve early treatment. The day you get evicted you should instantly accept the idea that you are homeless. Take firm action immediately. Apply for every kind of aid available. Don’t let your pride or your politics delay you from getting help.

Step 2 — Believe that it’s only temporary and that there is a way back.

Don’t fall into the trap of feeling sorry for yourself or believing that you are a loser. You are a good person who has had a bad break and you will get over it.

Step 3 — Lose the past. Stop dwelling on what you’ve lost. Don’t mourn. Don’t constantly wish that you were back where you were. Concentrate on what you want and how to get it.

Step 4 — Develop attainable expectations. You may not be able to get what you had, but if you set realistic goals, you can probably get more than you have.

Step 5 — Visualize yourself succeeding at a job that’s available. Find out who’s hiring for a job that you can do and where, then get there as soon as possible. If there are simply no jobs where you are, leave.

Step 6 — Chart a path. Determine a step-by-step plan that will take you out of the streets. Don’t try to get back to where you were; move ahead to where you are going.

Step 7 — Find out about every program.

Go to a church, agency or shelter. Ask for a list of programs and go shopping.

Step 8 — Tear out the “Government” listings in the phone book.

Take the pages from an upscale mall or residential area, rather than ripping them out of a book in the area where you are homeless. Some grocery stores have them in the lobby for free as well. Then contact every agency that might have help available. Ask every question you can think of: housing, food stamps, welfare, child care. They may not volunteer information unless you ask for it.

Step 9 — Reconnect yourself. Get a post office box so that you have an address. Many copy centers also have mail boxes, which give you a real street address instead of a box number. They’ll even let you use their fax number; you pay only for faxes you receive. Some areas actually offer voice mail for the homeless at little or no charge; check with the phone company. Or even sign up for a google email account (free) (gmail.com) and you can also get a free google voice account which is a telephone number (unique to you) that you can access to receive voice messages. This is great for giving to potential employers.

Step 10 — Save your money. You’re going to need first and last month’s rent plus utilities to get a place to live. Everything you can do for free, do it. Use the free shelters. Eat free at the soup kitchens. Save at least 20 percent of every dollar you get your hands on. Open a bank account; it’s the only safe way to save. It’s also an important connection back to society. Most banks will open a savings account with as little as five dollars.

Step 11 — Establish a routine. Brush your teeth every day. Try to get up and go to sleep at the same time. A daily routine will help you to stay rested and alert. Most important, it can help you to retain your sanity.

Step 12 — Get a calendar. Make and keep appointments. Set goals. Be aware of the passage of time; it’s another connection back to the world you want to rejoin.

Step 13 — Don’t give up. As trite and difficult as it may sound, it’s an absolute truth. If you keep the faith and keep trying you can succeed. No matter how many times you have a setback, don’t stop trying. Just by making simple steps daily, you will make it.

Reach out for help.

This story is funny but it truly showed me how little I thought I knew.

Lake Eola, the beautiful central park given to the City of Orlando for the people, (let’s never lose sight that homeless people are still people) provides a meeting place for many homeless and for Social Issue, it is a place we can go down, connect and supply food, clothing and grooming products.

One day, the Rain is relentless, and I am in the park handing out clothing.

I listen to the sad story of two people man and woman, who have lived together for 10 years,but are not married (there is no room in any of the Institution for a couple who are not married) they worked part time at the same company.

They lived in a small condo and life was good.

The company closed and of course both people lost their jobs, and ultimately lost their home and all that goes with it.

I asked them where they stayed?

On the Dock they replied.

Nice I thought…….thinking of the song “sitting on the dock of the bay”

Short story, I drove them both towards their home, they protested and asked me to drop them at the corner of the street.

I insisted they would get wet through and drove them around the corner.

THE DOCK was a ‘LOADING DOCK’, AVAILABLE for THEM TO USE FROM 9pm to 5am IN THE MORNING, I was made very aware of her despair  at having only wet cardboard to sleep on.

I found myself running up to Publix;s asking for this Dry Cardboard to make a bed, tears running down my face, mascara running along side,what a mess and the knowing that all I could offer them was, dry Cardboard to sleep on………….Changed my life!!

In all walks of life there are Ups and Downs, with a most diverse collection of personalities and characters. And working with homeless people is not so very much different.

BUSINESS WORLD

In the business world you will meet generosity, fairness, people who truly want to see you succeed and the outright Crook who will pull the rug from under you.

Many business deals are negotiated at lunch or over a drink sometimes called a cocktail, sealed with a hand shake or a signature and that all seems very acceptable… while it lasts.

It may come as a surprise to find that 1/3 of the homeless population have at some time or another enjoyed the abundance of life. Whilst riding that Roller Coaster they or the company they worked for made a bad decision.

This kind of event can be likened to :

Free Falling, it happens very fast with little control.

One Pay check, One Rent or Mortgage payment, Car Payment, Credit card Payment and the many other repercussions that are affected through a change in ones circumstances, can very easily render one homeless or sofa surfing.

Unimaginable while we are on top………………

VETERANS

And for those who may have given up everything to join the forces and support their country, what then? when they return, as different people or maimed, mentally and physically, many suffer from confusion and disillusioned when events happen in a person’s life it creates changes, not always for the best……………

HOSPITALIZED MENTALLY Ill PEOPLE

… let us not forget the closing of the hospitals and releasing of many patients who were not capable of caring for themselves and indeed had never been capable in the first place. Hence the reason they were placed where they were ???.

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

The family unit is a maze of discovery, control, frustration, joy and change.

Many members of families hold expectations of their young, partners, relatives and friends…………and for the most part they work but once again we are a developing species and when they do not work out, resulting in separation from that unit without some good preparation times can become hard. Yet again it is easy to find yourself homeless.

Friends will offer their help for a period of time, sometimes this is enough to get one back on their feet, but it can also result in the loss of a friendship and a long lonely road ahead.

So What drives Social issue to continue?  Where there is a need…and there sure is……..We must strive to fill it.

What are your thoughts?