In the time since I last wrote
- One non Hispanic women leave (and go back to her husband) because of the bullying from the one resident.
- Lost our heater in our apartment (Non-Hispanics are not housed in the same place as the Hispanic women.) Only got the actual heater fixed because we complained so much.
- One of my roommates left for anther shelter because she couldn’t take it & went to a different DV shelter.
- Anther of my roommates was falsely accused of making threats against the bully
- Didn’t have a bathroom of our own for three days
…and I had to sit outside in the freezing cold at night at a fast food joint near my day job to work (2nd virtual job.) I was told that if the mom wants to let her child be destructive and offensive to the other residents that is her right and only the residents can ask her to allow it. But then when my roommate did she was accused of threatening her.
The good news is that the bully is gone. The sad news is that the new resident is drinking Vodka in her room…she’s Hispanic so it’s ok.
She’s young, drinks, and barely pays attention to her toddler; treats her more like a toy than a child. Plus she talks and texts with some guy and the very next day she came to the shelter she told this guy where she lived. All the things we were told would get us kicked out…she’s still here.
I’m being stubborn. No non-Hispanic woman has ever gone to transitional housing from here since I’ve been here – none. We deserve the same services as they do. My roommate left because they wouldn’t help her find transitional housing that wasn’t really just a homeless shelter. They tried that one on me as well. Thankfully one was too far to get to work and the other was too close to my ex.
My latest roommate now also sees what is really going on. She didn’t really believe what our (previous) roommate and I told her when we advised that she be her own case manager and find help herself, now she does. She’s working with an outside agency that is working with her to move her forward.
What am I going to do? I don’t know. I just started working both jobs and I have lousy credit. I have a cell phone to pay and I need a new laptop (I really do.) Should I just quit and move to a different city and start all over at a different DV Shelter? Not what I really want to do but I don’t know. This place is wearing me down.
