Chapter Six
"A Day In The Life (Bread Of Life)"
Journal One of Three
Arrival at the winter shelter was, to say the least, intimidating. I sat at a nearby restaurant for hours trying to conjure up the courage to go there. "Intake" was after 4:30. Period. They first took you into the front office; and, there, you were expected to give a urine sample or you wouldn't be allowed in. The Pastor then interviewed you by asking questions about how you came to be homeless. Needless to say, I didn't mention the settlement. I just explained about my partial disability and the limitations it placed on me.
Upon arrival to the women's dorm, I began keeping a journal of life at what everyone knew as "The Bread". And, because so many of the women were in hiding from abusers, I wrote my Journal using first names only. It is as follows:
Day One . . . Following Intake, we entered the dining room at about 6:00 P.M. There were around forty people waiting to be served. They come from everywhere for one of the few nourishing meals in all of North County. Volunteers serve each of us individually; and, once finished, the guest speaker leads us in prayer. My mind flashed back to a song by the Mamas & The Papas where they sing of longing for some "California Dreamin", and that " . . . the preacher likes it cold, he knows I'm gonna' stay". They ask us to write down the following: "I am powerless over?". Keeping in mind this is for our eyes only, we are expected to write about what troubles us the most. Then we're told to, several weeks from now, look at the list we just wrote and see if it still applies and add to it, if needed. I wrote that "I am powerless over other people's actions and finding a permanent home: at least for now".
Then I was told something (which applies to every shelter I stayed at); namely, women and children go to the front of the line and are fed first. I, however, had a problem with this. I didn't understand why I would be more hungry than the men are. I was told it is because women and children tend to eat less so it leaves more for the men.
We were ushered in to the sleeping quarters in this converted office suite (with the men's quarters next door). And we were introduced to Emilee, the Women's Dorm Matron. She is in charge of us (at least that's what the Pastor told us). And, when I saw my lower bunk (assigned to me because of my shoulder injury), I was amazed at what I saw. It had a Down Comforter and I marveled at the fact that, even while working in accounting all those years, I couldn't afford one. And, here I was, in a homeless shelter and being given one (they are donated by local upscale hotels when they have outlived their usefulness).
Day Two . . . Alliance Residential Company gave us gifts for Christmas. Also, because it's Christmastime, we were each given a Santa bag of gifts. I found out later that they were put together by local schoolchildren. In fact, each had an embroidered pillowcase signed by one of the children. Mine was named "Oscar" and said that he was "eight" and that he was "praying for (me)". (And, for the next four months, I found out why).
Day Three . . . The first thing I'm having to get used to is the street jargon. I was at the nearby train station and heard two men talking. They kept using the term "Stackin' It". And I figured out through context that it meant saving money. One of them was talking about buying a new car so I assumed he was saying he was "stackin'" up the money to pay for it. Later, one of the residents told another that she was "dosing" today. This, I later found out, meant she was getting a dose of Methadone from a local clinic. And I noticed that some of the residents had small silver lock boxes. They're kept in the refrigerator in the dining room. The shelter personnel have to dispense these drugs daily because the patients aren't trusted to take them themselves. This is to make sure they don't take too much or attempt to sell them.
Day Five . . .Rachael (my bunkmate: above me) hasn't been at the shelter for two nights. Emilee checked with Pastor Steve and he doesn't know where she is. She hasn't called the Hotline. But we know she's not in jail and don't think she's in the hospital (Emilee called them all). . .
Day Twenty Six . . . I keep seeing signs everywhere about Human Trafficking (interestingly, except onboard the trains). The bus and train stations are riddled with them, calling it "Modern-Day Slavery". The images are very disturbing. But I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one wondering what I can do about it.
Day Thirty Two . . . Someone told me about the downtown shelters. It's a real bad situation. Also, SRO's (Single Resident Occupancy). For the shelters, you have to wait in line every night and only hope to get in. And, even then, hope you can stay all night. I'll be staying in North County, thank you very much.
Day Forty One . . . Pam keeps talking about "The Man Who Lives In The Pole". She kept talking about him and I finally realized she was referring to the man in the pole who signals it's o.k. to cross the street. She noticed also (once he gets down to 12) you can hear a phone ringing in the background.
Day Forty Three . . . We've got a new person. I don't know her name but it didn't matter: I knew she wouldn't be here long, and she wasn't. She arrived about 7:30 and she is talking like at least two other people. One minute, she was herself, then she suddenly became some man named "Earl" (a trucker from New England). And her voice was deep and loud. She also gave us a younger version of herself who just now arrived in California (although, in her Intake, she said she's lived in San Diego all her life). She arrived at 7:30 and, by 11:15, two guys from next door ushered her out (but not before she accused one of them of trying to rape her this evening: while she was with us).
Day Eighty Eight . . . I heard the most comical conversation today. Sue was talking with two women who just arrived here. One of them said, "Hi, I'm Tricia and I'm a recovering alcoholic". The other said, "Hi, I'm Lucy and I'm a recovering addict and alcoholic". And Sue responded by saying, "Hi, I'm Sue and I'm the housekeeper".