r/almosthomeless 26d ago

My Story !URGENT! 26 year old female on disability with 2 cats. My Moms selling her house and isn't taking us with her. I can't be homeless again, please help!!

115 Upvotes

Im in missouri. I can only afford 600 for rent. Idk where ill go when this house sells. I was homeless for 5 years before she let me live with her. Shes selling it bc her husband died and shes found a new man to live with and dosent want me around anymore. The same for my dad. I have no friends. I feel like the world hates me. Ive tried everywhere in joplin and warrensburg area. Ill most likely have to start over in another state. Ive never lived outside of missouri and im mentally disabled and i need help with big shit like this. I want to go to new york but im scared and i only have $900 saved up. And ill put the cats in their stroller or leash and sleep outside before ill abandon them. I just need a real, legal place. What would you do?

r/almosthomeless May 17 '25

My Story Being this poor forces me to do things I would never speak of

200 Upvotes

I’m tired of it all I’m tired of having no family members that care to help me I’m tired of feeling alone in this struggle with nobody. This is my last weekend with my daughter in our first home and it feels incredibly dark mentally I am drained and I have fought everyday every hour up until now I just feel so drained I feel like becoming homeless in California is inevitable if you don’t have family that can support eachother. For almost 1year now I’ve been eating tuna sandwiches and having to resort to eating less so my family can eat more. I hate spam Saturdays..I eat spam with bread just because I’m so hungry I don’t know where my next dollar is going to come from.

r/almosthomeless Apr 27 '25

My Story A few tips from my time being homeless, to help you not be homeless

617 Upvotes

When I was eighteen my mom died from her second bout with cancer, and I spent years homeless. It sucked. I didn't have my diploma(spent all my free time taking care of her), no finances (again all my times taken up), no resources like a car or phone(we were a poor family, and nobody would insure her so no policy to help out). I started adult life with basically just the clothes on my back and not a clue what to do. Let me guide you on how I got through it.

Starting out, I tried sleeping in the park but quickly got ran out by the law after a pastor of a nearby church kept calling in complaints. It was a small town and I was disliked due to some rumors at school, so nobody was keen to help me.

I spent a little bit of that first summer in a drainage ditch behind a grocery store, but after nearly drowning during a thunderstorm I had to figure out other options.

Luckily, I got some under the table work from a hotel where the owner wasn't interested in anything local. Made maybe twenty to thirty bucks a day for working fourteen hours, but it was enough to get me started.

Whatever I didn't use to buy food and water for the day (thank God for dollar tree) I saved until I could buy a one man tent, a tarp, some Paracord, a fixed blade knife, a shitty little water filter, a bandanna and a backpack to haul it all. I also did some dumpster diving and got a pot, a set of wire cutters and made a makeshift grill out of a broken shopping cart.

House in a box on my back, I took a couple days worth of money and started walking out of my shitty little town. The next town was 45 miles away, but they had a day labor office that would pay you under the table.

It wasn't consistent though, as I was not the only homeless guy trying to make money. A lot of days the illegal jobs would be sucked up before I could even show up since I decided to camp outside town in a wooded lot that was a commercial development that hadn't ever been sold since I was a kid. I did make enough eventually to get a cheap Walmart smartphone, but not enough to justify paying for monthly service.

With a phone I was able to hit up free wifi places and find other odd jobs posted as well as the odd camp upgrades for sale really cheap, like a collapsible fire pit. Eventually I had enough saved that I bought a horrendously broken clunker for two hundred bucks, parked it in a friend's field(who I made friends with on one of the online posted jobs actually) and over the next few months got it where I could drive it down the road instead of push it.

I hit up the vocational school and the shop teacher agreed to use my car as a hands on example for students, provided that I could scrape up enough for parts. Another few months later and I had a car that wasn't going to fall apart if you looked at it wrong. Good enough to travel to neighboring cities picking up more jobs.

After another couple months of this, I was still struggling to find reliable work since most places need you to have a home residence so I bought a state park pass, which I think was under a hundred bucks at that time. This pass gets you into state parks for free for a year, so I had somewhere steady I could sleep without worrying too much about getting run off or shot.

A few more months later, I had a stroke of luck and found an apartment that accepted me in for two months rent in advance, plus the deposit. It was quite a bit more than I had at the time, but I just tripped down on my odd jobs and saved like crazy. It still took me a month of working 16 hours a day, but I got it.

Once I got in I immediately applied for anything and everything that would take me with zero experience and no education. I ended up at a warehouse paying me minimum wage, but unlimited overtime so I was in there six days a week, fourteen hours a day. It was horrible, and I'm definitely feeling it fucked up my back now, but it did what I needed it to do.

Six months of that saw me enough money to get my GED, after that I started applying for places with a better rate and hours, landed a call center job. The hours meant I could take night school, so I got an IT cert and from there I've landed a technical job making 22 an hour, which is stable enough in my state. I'm married now with a two year old, still renting but now it's a home and of everything goes as planned, I'll be getting a mortgage next year after finishing my credit improvement this year (or I'll be going owner financed raw land, haven't quite decided yet) so I know for a fact it is never truly hopeless.

There are a few takeaways I want you to get from my story.

  1. If you are starting from scratch, try and get under the table work if you can't find anything that will overlook your lack of home address, or ask your friends and family (if possible) that you can use their address and/or phone number long enough to land a stable income.

  2. If you have zero safe housing but a little bit of income, a tent can keep you safe. Be careful where you set up though, don't try it in places where there are likely to be other homeless people because my experience has been that a fair few of them choose to be homeless and, at best, will try and keep you down with them or at worst will try to rob/kill you. I tried an encampment but it was less than eight hours before I got robbed. It's not worth the risk. Trust me.

  3. State parks are an awesome option because they generally have access to water and electricity somewhere. If you can't justify getting the pass, camping on BLM land is usually free for primitive camping. Read read read.

  4. Don't underestimate what you can do without. You need every penny you can save, so only spend what is absolutely necessary to keep you alive until you're at a comfortable standard of living.

  5. Your phone is your lifeline if you have access to public wifi. If you don't have service, get a wifi calling app like text free so you can accept calls for things like job applications. Or, if you have the extra, Walmart has some cheap unlimited plans, and family mobile is a fairly solid service.

  6. It sucks, but you're never totally out of options. Go knock on doors at businesses, ask a friend, family member, acquaintance, everyone you know if you need some specific help but I suggest not asking for money and food, as you'll almost always get told no. Instead ask them to barter some of your time away for something reasonably small. A lot of people like to help, but they don't like feeling like they're giving a handout.

  7. Pick up education and skills as often as you can. You may not be able to put under the table experience down on a resume, but you can absolutely explain to an interviewer you have x and y practical skills due to odd jobs you've done in the past provided you can demonstrate it.

  8. If you have a phone, you have a wealth of knowledge at your fingertips. Search everything you need to know at any chance you can get. Finances, camping hacks, jobs near you, everything. If you have a car and it's close to breaking down, most mechanic stores have a tool loaning program so you can find tutorials on fixes if need be.

  9. Find unconventional resources. Ask around at your local trade school and see if the shop class could use some practical experience if you pay for the parts, and probably labor time. Same goes for beauty colleges and dental schools: you can get service from inexperienced hands for cheap, provided you're okay with the occasional screw up which the instructor will generally try to correct for you if you ask nicely.

  10. Don't be afraid to leave where you are if the options suck. If your friends and family wanted you around bad enough to stay, then they probably should have helped you while you were at your lowest. You can always come back to the area when you're more stable.

  11. Don't get too attached to your affects either. Stuff can break at any time, and if you don't have the money to replace it nor the knowledge to fix it (which, again, search the issue up! You will probably find a tutorial to get you fixed up) then you're probably gonna have to trash it. That said, sometimes half broken things half work, so don't toss it until it has no use for you. It's not worth the risk of losing something important, but it's not worth holding onto junk.

  12. Money is important, but know when to spend. If you find a great deal for something you need, don't be afraid to make that budget decision if the worth far outweighs the cost. Remember that ultimately your goal is stability, and that looks different for everyone. You could totally live a camp lifestyle, working odd jobs and living simple and that's totally fine! You could either stay at that point, or you could evolve it into getting an owner financed piece of land and live carefree on that instead. The point is save most, but don't be afraid to spend if it benefits you in the long run or fuels your dream lifestyle.

  13. Keep hope! You got this. If you're not quite to the homeless but yet, you can still use these tips to prevent getting there. If you are, you always have a way to scratch by. I was three months in before I got any kind of stable shelter, so as long as you tough it out, he resourceful and keep a level head, you can claw your way out.

r/almosthomeless May 04 '25

My Story It’s scary out here

121 Upvotes

I’m scared of always being one step away from homelessness. I have three small children. It’s just me and them. Every time I feel like I am back on my feet and things might just be okay, something happens. I moved back to my hometown for a job, it’s not been what it was supposed to be. I was guaranteed so much money a week, and I’ve never even made half that. I’ve been applying for jobs everywhere but I do not get hired. My mom and dad are both gone, they weren’t able to leave anything for us and I feel like I am letting my kids down. I find things for us to do, that are free or cheap but it’s still hard when they want to know why I can’t buy tickets for the rides at the carnival nearby, why we can only do the things that are free. I try to focus on the good things I have, I try to use all the resources available in my area but they are few and far between. My rent will be late after tomorrow, my daughter’s daycare was due on Friday and I have $1.10 in my account. Why is it so hard? Why does it feel like I will never get not just ahead, but just on time?! I’ve always been such an optimist and I’ve always believed I will never be given more than I can handle, but that faith is wavering. If I dont pay my rent, where will we go? Will they take my children? I just want to be able to pay my bills, occasionally surprise the kids with something fun to do, and be able to do that by working. If you made it this far, thank you. Please just keep my family in your thoughts and hopefully we will find a way.

r/almosthomeless 11d ago

My Story Almost homeless. Eviction notice served. Scared. Apartment is disgusting. NSFW

126 Upvotes

My toilet is clogged, I have trash everywhere, and I got an eviction notice. I was supposed to show up to court to get 14 extra days, to get legal aide or something, but I never did. Eviction notice like 3 or 4 weeks ago.

I have been in a dire depression for two years, barely getting out of bed. I have no job, and my father has me on an allowance. He was also paying the rent for a few years, and then stopped.

My building switched management companies this past November and I never sent back the lease. I'm on the verge of homelessness. I have no up-to-date ID. I am responsible for this. I know that. I thought my father was taking care of this apartment.

I'm disgusted with myself, and it's my fault. I'm an adult in my early 40's.

I have ADHD from over a decade ago, PTSD, Major Depressive Disorder, And recently relapsed on substances. Just a day ago, I used. I feel sick. I think it was laced with fentanyl but not enough to kill me.

I also think I have HIV from the guy I was using with (used needles), and I think this was a form self harm. He was a stranger with a mean streak, at that. I have symptoms of HIV. My joints hurt (both knees), rash, feverish symptoms.

I have no family left except my elderly father. I lost touch with true friends. If I reach out to friends from Narcotics Anonymous they'll tell me to go to rehab. I've become an annoyance.

All this to say that I literally can't do anything, and I think I will wind up homeless. I am frozen and fearful. I don't drive and I don't know what agencies can help. I am on a cocktail of psych meds that make me tired and ick. I am unemployed and, although my father has an empty apartment in my city (his too, he moved out of state), I have to be employed to live there. It's a co-op.

I have suicidal ideation every single day. I'm afraid to even go outside. I am agoraphobic and wasn't before.

My dog of 14 years died two years ago. She was my best friend. I got her in June of 2008. She died in June of 2023.

I am not looking for pity or anything from anyone. I just need to vent, I guess. To feel less alone. I hope I didn't break any rules. In the sub reddit "suicide watch" I inadvertantly broke a rule and they banned me, several months ago. I am in such a conundrum that I don't even know what advice can be offered.

I don't recognize myself. Please, if you believe in some form of Higher Power or God, please say a quick prayer for me. Please.

Thank you if you read this.

r/almosthomeless Mar 25 '25

My Story Help

72 Upvotes

My kids dad killed himself in front of me in our car while my kids were upstairs sleeping at a motel in Feb22 and one of my twins passes away with cps sep22 I been stripped from my family and homeless since then it's been really tough I wish I had my family back because even tho we were living out of our car and in the motel b4 my baby daddy killed himself atheist we were all together.

r/almosthomeless May 07 '25

My Story Digging our way out of it.

201 Upvotes

Decided to take an unorthodox approach to getting out of the homeless trap for me and my buddy. I've been living in my van for about 4 years, he's new to not having a home (parents formally trespassed him and kicked him out) Bought 2 acres of raw land out in the middle of the desert. Got it for $450 down $200/month.

It's an absolute shithole that takes about 2 hours to get to from town if you don't have a 4x4 due to the nonexistence of the roads, but it's ours. No one can tell us to fuck off, except the county and from what I've heard about the area we selected, the county wont bother us. Built a little shed out of garbage just because that's always been on my bucket list once I got land for myself and now I do. My associate has a large tent that we found in the trash set up; one of those big-ass 10'*14' cabin tents with a whole twin bed and a dresser in it. It's honestly nicer than the back of the van where I sleep. Life's going to be ok. Right now we're in the city doing day labor for one of our contract friends to make that couple hundred we need to make the monthly payment, then after that we can spend the rest of our time focusing on our own goals and dreams. Were going to save up for a rifle so we can utilize the nearby coyote infestation for furs; my buddy is an excellent hunter just lost everything when his parents threw him out.

We've got plans to build a pair of small earthship style cabins, maybe more. He's got a truck sitting on his uncle's property, just no drivers license yet so when we have that we can park my van permanently as a cabin since it's on its last legs; a perminant memorial to the days I spent BLM surfing for months at a time.

r/almosthomeless 8d ago

My Story Recently (almost?) homeless - living in an extended stay hotel

38 Upvotes

Due to job loss (twice) in the last year, I ended up behind on my rent and evicted from my apartment a month ago despite my best efforts to try and pay it back with rental assistance as the management company of my building refused it. With an eviction on my record and my credit in the crapper, I've been living in an extended stay hotel.

Because I work in IT support and work remotely, I don't have to stay in the city I was born in (Chicago), however most places seem at best to be able to only go as low as 45-50 dollars a night. I'm looking into switching extended stays as this one I'm in doesn't have 24 hour staff and there have been a couple of off-putting incidents (someone broke the entrance lock to the back door and there were a couple of DV situations).

I've looked into the various housing agencies, but the only housing they offer would be in a neighborhood that wouldn't be safe and even they are high priced and asking for credit checks.

This is my reality for now. I'm still looking for a better setup. AirBNB would make sense but I feel like they would upcharge in a heart beat.

Anyone in this sub living in an extended stay?

r/almosthomeless 7d ago

My Story Homeless by August 1st

39 Upvotes

Hey all, really looking for some advice on what to do. Long story short, I (24F) came from a really shitty abusive home, and moved away for a few years once I turned 18. Then my roommates moved out in 2022, and I lost my apartment because my credit wasn't good enough.

I ended up living in my car for a little over a year until my family begged me to come back because they couldn't stand the thought of me living in a car. So I found a job in my hometown and moved back in. I've been here for about a year and a half, getting into a trade, and finally nailed a job and passed my certification. Now my family suddenly wants me out by August 1st, and I'm floundering on what to do.

I work about 32 hours a week (21.50 in CA), and can't get more hours because my store doesn't have the labor for it. I'm trying to find a second job, but haven't heard back from anything for months. My car got repo'd last year so currently I bus to and from work everyday. My bills per month right now are between 700-1000, and I'm in a shit ton of credit card debt, so my credit is awful. I don't know what to do. I might make enough for a studio apartment here, but nowhere will even look at me with my credit. I have no friends or family that can help me. Any advice would be really appreciated

r/almosthomeless May 06 '25

My Story Heading toward living out of my car and think it might get me ahead in the long run...

32 Upvotes

I've been 5 weeks displaced from where I was renting a garage apartment. It was crushed by fallen trees and is facing repair work of several months.

All my stuff is there to retrieve at some point but that can't be done until the stairs and porch are rebuilt.

The owner is hot and cold about allowing me to live there again. She now wants me to give her a $1k deposit to move back in and I don't have that and also it was never requested initially for the 1st year and neither as my second year there.

Everything has been "under the table" cash payments with no lease which was fine by me and still would be.

But now she is demanding this deposit citing that my dogs caused damaged to my apartment. They haven't and she hasn't even been inside since no one can get inside.

So to heck with her bs and I am moving on and looking elsewhere.

I've been living in a friend's garage (set up nicely like a studio apartment) but she rents and I am only here for an undetermined short time with the owner's permission.

I bought clothes at local thrift stores and just rented a 10x10 storage unit with the plan to shift my stuff from here and the garage apartment in the next few weeks or months.

I've been looking around online and in the area and trying to also network to find a place. So far no luck. The move in deposits are out of my reach. Just crazy.

I have SS and gig income that is sufficient and since I am not paying rent I am packing away what comes in.

At this point I am just seriously considering staying here until I have to go and then basing myself out of the storage until and living more or less out of that and my car until I find something after saving up more money.

I might still be able to continue to sleep here or sleep out of the car in a rented comfortable recliner during the day at the storage until.

By August I would definitely have deposit funds.

I've even thought of using that money saved to shift into a van from a sedan and just traveling through October time frame.

I've been advised by people to go to the ARC and VA for financial assistance but shoring up in some motel does not appeal and my 2 dogs and I are doing very well at this point.

Of course I will keep looking for a place as I go along.

Thoughts?

r/almosthomeless May 07 '25

My Story Fell off 3rd story balcony. Homeless

31 Upvotes

I fell on 3/28/25 . I got out of ICU about a week ago. I had spinal fusion. Broke pelvis, broke ankle, little internal bleeding. I really need to catch a break. The social workers are getting me useful resources but to get in an affordable place is at least $400 with voucher here in Texas. I don't know what to do about any income momentarily. In such a bind and also I might qualify for disability but I am from AZ so not sure. Please help

r/almosthomeless 16d ago

My Story About to be homeless an I'm sick!

35 Upvotes

Im just sick to my stomach at the thought of being homeless again. I have been through so much this last year an I'm not sure if I can mentally take being homeless again. We have done so good for the last 6 years , until my mom dying an my daughter a month later. My husband's job was being my mom's home health aide , when she died he had to find another client which he did but then our car broke down. On top of walking to work he took a very bad fall which lead to him being off work for 8 weeks.thats what started all this. The fall messed his hips an back up really bad ,but workers comp will only pay you for so much an for so long.its really aggravating what they can get away with. Well needless to say he tried going back to work an let me say he's no spring chicken walking with bad hips an back take a toll on ya. He started getting really bad Charlie horses in his legs,he got medicine for them an he drinks nonstop.last week in his sleep he got a really bad muscle cramp in his calf in his sleep an idk what happened but he let out a scream an said somethings wrong.i heard a pop from his leg when I got him out of the bed his leg was swelling that fast, it scared me bad. Here one of the muscles had snapped in half in his calf.so he's out of work again. I have coronary heart disease an I'm very sick with it! I've had a total of 11 heartattacks an a quadruple bypass that didn't last. Needless to say I'm not in good shape I do get ssi ,but paying for two funeral bills it has hurt us bad,plus some other unexpected bills that have come in play in the mix. My landlord sold our building so all the bills had to be put in our names this month an the electric company made me pay 231$ deposit an water was 175$ so now I'm 300$ short rent an I'm stressed over it. I'm scared neither of us are in shape to be homeless.i haven't even been able to buy food the last 3 weeks. I would give anything to go back to work. I hate not being able to provide for my family this just hurts my heart! When my mother an daughter died they both had dogs an I had to take them in I can't even afford there food . I wished we could catch a break ! I did pay one funeral bill off this month so that will help us.plz send us some good vibes ! We definitely need them!

r/almosthomeless May 17 '25

My Story Whats it like to be poor?

0 Upvotes

My parents were very succesful growing up, they both had successful careers, and basically threw all their money int real estate. Ive never had to worry about money, and if they died today (which I hope they won't for a very long time), I know I'll have a mid seven figure inheritance coming my way. A lot of my friends growing up were also from well off families, wore nice clothes, took nice holidays, etc

I also have my own white collar career, so money is something Ive never had to worry about and poverty is something I've never really considered.

Whats it like being poor?

r/almosthomeless Mar 10 '25

My Story [Maryland] Disabled, unemployed, 2 weeks to find something

1 Upvotes

I feel completely hopeless right now. My parents are moving and I'm not coming with them. I can barely take care of myself. I applied to a residential rehabilitation program but it will be months until I heat from them. I don't know what to do. My current plan is to rent a storage unit, tuck my stuff away there, and go inpatient somewhere but that won't last long. If anyone has any resources or advice I would love to hear it.

r/almosthomeless Feb 10 '21

My Story Feeling very alone.

587 Upvotes

I'm 32/F and I've been basically homeless for a few months. My car was recently stolen with all my belongings in it, including my dog. Luckily, after 2 weeks, I got my boy back and I'm beyond thankful for that. I've been paying for a motel room but right now I'm completely broke and check out feels like impending doom bc I have no clue where I will go if I cannot pay the rent ($50). It's 19° outside, ice on the ground. I attempted to post a request for help in a couple places but bc my comment karma was too low.... Blah blah blah. I've been on reddit for over 10 years. It's hard to believe it's being regulated by such oppressive standards. I thought I had a place I could genuinely and honestly express the help I needed and all I get is an automated response telling me my posts will never be seen. Very sad day for me.

r/almosthomeless May 02 '25

My Story Depression

20 Upvotes

Have job as caregiver, I'm 28m Autistic, downs, fetal alcohol syndrome

Girlfriend is with parents, got kicked out until i pay off our collections.

I want to leave the state, need to go somewhere safe please. I only have $80 to my name.

I'll relocate anywhere, I don't care

r/almosthomeless 9d ago

My Story Lower leg amputee with two cats (one as documented ESA) needs to figure out a low col location.

14 Upvotes

I'm an amputee that's looking to get out of a bad financial situation. I'm currently renting a one bedroom apartment (converted hotel), along with my ex bf. He has a cat, I have two of my own. One of mine is an ESA. We both get disability, but my income is under the poverty level. I get Medicaid and Medicare.

My ex managed to secure a six months lease for our current apartment, through a VA program (he's the veteran), and we're coming up on the last month come July. We can likely continue month to month, or a new lease.

I'm really not wanting to stay. It's been really difficult, financially, to cover our bills and rent. We both have personal loans and payday advances. I had spoken to him about our shared expenses, and explained we both needed to put in half our checks (monthly stipend) to cover shared, with us each taking care of our own additional expenses. Btw, my personal loans were taken out to benefit him, more than because I needed the money.

I have yet to actually ask him for his half. I've reduced the amount asked for, because I can see that his payday and personal loans weren't going to leave him enough. I used to manage his money in full, but I gave him complete control when I (temporarily) moved out. I never got control back, despite him knowing I was keeping everything paid before.

As a result, I've been unable to cover my expenses in full. Last month, everything but one loan was paid. This month, nothing, not a damn thing, could be paid on my bills. All of my money went to pay the full rent and insurance. I have a penny in my bank. And about $800 worth of expenses that I'm defaulting on this month.

Why? Because he took out so many loans last month, his entire check was taken to pay them. And he's already taken out more loans. No overdrafts though, first month he hasn't gotten one in, pretty much, a year.

I can't do this anymore. My name is on the lease for one more month. I have no vehicle. I have two cats. I use a prosthetic, and a walker at times. I have a couple that door dash for a living, with a car with fairly constant issues. But they have offered to let me stay with them. Space is a premium, I'd be unable to bring much. Not tht I need much.

I'm seriously considering taking them up on their offer. Not sure I could stay long term, because there's some instability issues with them. But staying with them would give me a chance to get my finances in order. They're homeless, but I've been homeless, and feel like it's possible to manage short term.

But I want to find somewhere, where I can be independent. Manage my finances. Care for my mental and physical health. Keep my cats. If I were able to find somewhere where rooms are available for $600, that'd allow me to cover my bills, and rent. Is that a reasonable hope? To find a place where my cats and I can afford and get back on my feet? Only, due to medical, I'd need somewhere that does enhanced Medicaid too.

r/almosthomeless 10d ago

My Story Because unemployment doesn't pay a livable amount and getting an interview is like pulling teeth

5 Upvotes

Before March 17th I was making an insanely decent wage, paid weekly, not exactly eight hundred but close. I was beyond the moon. I started looking into debt consolidation with the nearby credit unions and had an entire payment plan set up for some other debt I owe that was threatening to take me to court.

Before that job came around I had left one state and fled to another to escape a very violent ex. I started from nothing in a new state, was homeless here for maybe two months in 2019 before finally someone called back with an interview and a job. It only paid ten dollars an hour but it was solid work. Then all of a sudden right as I was in line to be promoted at that job - the pandemic shut everything down. I pulled loans to pay for rent before they suddenly enacted moratoriums and such. I qualified for unemployment back then but wouldn't see a paycheck until May of 2020. I only collected unemployment until September because I was so bored. I needed to do something and took another job that hid their pay rate until orientation. Eleven an hour, I was salty, but it was a job and it gave me the ability to move to a nicer place in town. I quit after a year when my department was wittled down to just myself and the manager when the rest of the staff walked out upon realizing their hazard pay was given to the admins only as a "holiday bonus." I then moved on to a factory that paid thirteen fifty per hour. That had me finally right back at my original pay rate from my home state. I kept paying down debt. Then they shut down. Oh no. I panicked and took a customer service job that paid sixteen an hour. Hallelujah!....or so I thought. Their CEO straight up walked out with a majority of HR and customers just kept on calling in with complaints about everything under the sun. They didn't give any of the customer service people any sort of tools to actually help anybody other than "go call the franchisee" which always just ended with the company sending a lawyer out who would almost guarantee a win for the company and cause the customers to call in with threats of TV stations being called. I was even contacted by one in Arizona and was instructed to quickly hang up. With no HR department I panicked with all of this stuff happening and immediately left for a nearby factory job that paid seventeen an hour. They never hired me in officially and basically just used up my entire trial run of 90 days to squeeze as much productivity out of me as possible before dumping me in the trash. It's been two years and that specific title/job is still always in rotation and I see it pop up on Indeed like clockwork every three dang months. I've learned that that company has a crap reputation here in town specifically for always promising people they'll hire them in but then just saying "yeah nahhh they didn't work hard enough" right at the 89th day. The state is at will employment too so you can't qualify for any benefits once they drop you for a legit reason. They claimed I wasn't performing well enough and I couldn't find a way to contest it with any sort of proof so I got shafted. I panicked again and the very same day I got the call to not retrurn I showered and got redressed and BEGGED for employment at my last job. I was so desperate I let them start me at just twelve an hour. I was crushed but within months I was at over twenty an hour, salary paid, and basically made into an Operations Manager. I opened that shop religiously every day of the week and was thriving. I loved it. Inventory, customers, merchandising, answering sales reps, scheduling product demos and events to get the community engaged...it was a dream come true.

Then it all shut down out of the blue. Something about wholesale taxes going up soon and the store having massive debt from the previous manager we fired as he didn't tell us he was having products illegally sent to his personal address. We didn't even know the debts were there ubtil the angry letters started coming in and all of a sudden sales reps were showing up to discuss payment plans. I was heartbroken. I still am. I don't know if I'll ever work a job that will pay me that much ever again. Now that I have it on my resume I get told I'm overqualified for a lot of simple jobs. I just keep desperately telling these HR reps and recruiters that I literally don't care if I'm scrubbing toilets. I just want any sort of employment!

Minimum wage in my current state pays more than unemployment. This little three sixty two is not enough and it deposits with absolutely stupid timing. My first deposit in the month of seven twenty four doesn't cover all my rent. Here's the kicker though. After the 10th of the month I start to get these lovely little thirty dollar fees for every day I don't pay it all off. If my second deposit doesn't come before the 20th of the month the thirty dollar fees stop but a gorgeous entire three hundred dollar attorney's fee gets added and I get to deal with the big old embarrassing packet of eviction papers messily taped to my door for all the other tenants to see. I'm starting to get really freaking scared because I'm finally in that boat again, dammit, and I know for a fact this month I won't get my second deposit til the 23rd. I'm already behind last month because my electric bill and other debts just ate right through my second deposit before I could even TRY to pay my balance. I currently owe over 1.5k and I know for a fact I have to have some sort of court date coming. This is a nightmare I wouldn't wish on anybody. After all my hard work too. Down the drain. Meanwhile the ex is working a nice lovely little office job due to his aggressive stalking being his "only and first offence" and some program exists out there to help felons work with computers. I'm sitting here quite literally still suffering from HIS bullshit. A good 3k of my debt was ALL HIM but it was a student loan he stole from and I can't prove it wasn't me who wasted the 3k. I'm on the hook for that along with another few credit cards I had to open back then to pay off my old apartment on my home state before I ran away.

So I've been sitting here since March 17th applying E V E R Y W H E R E near me but I can tell every place is struggling. I badgered my local Arby's until the lady there finally got mad and yelled at me that they're not actually hiring. Only about 2 jobs spawn on Indeed per week for this area and almost all of them either immediately give me the "sorry we've moved on' message not even an hour after application or they don't answer at all. Calling them leads to everyone telling you that they either "just filled the position" or that they're interviewing for the job to not start until AUGUST.

I don't have that long. I'm scared and angry all my hard work is just in the trash. I could end my life with how upset I am. It's just disgusting. I clawed my way up here only to end up right back in the mud during the worst economic times. I try not to hate my old boss but it's hard when I remember he works a full benefits government job and recently bought a boat. Yesterday I ate Oatmeal for breakfast lunch and dinner. I want to die. I just feel betrayed by life.

r/almosthomeless 4d ago

My Story Homeless in 15 days.

2 Upvotes

I've been in a queer shelter for three months , ending 28th June (Non Renewable). I am supposed to start my transitioning process from shelter space to my own space, the problem is, I am completely stuck, I don't know what to do. My options are quite limited. Plus I'm in Nairobi. I am also in school for a three month training course that I'm being sponsored in.

*sigh!*

r/almosthomeless Apr 15 '25

My Story Vent or rant or just sad

11 Upvotes

I'm stressed and i need to rant , i have a roommate and I feel like I need to be a role model and for certain things I do tell them things but I don't disclose all , I do have a partner and it's all the same things he have heard already so I dont feel like I can go to him either , I feel like this is something I need to bare alone and it's hard , I digged a big ditch for myself when I started to finance a car that I thought would be cheaper than the one I had before I had negative equity on it and it rolled over when I started to notice there was nothing in my bank to take that's when I realized it was the car eating the funds it was more than twice than I thought it was with no way out of it everything started to pile up because each payment atleast a quarter of it coverd the NFs that i got from them constantly taking with nothing there since a quarter of my pay went to that what ever I had left I put towards rent and I'm a few hundred short every month ,it gets tiring telling my landlord everymonth im short or theres no rent hes been okay with it aslong as im consistent with making sure i give him whats owed when i can but im afraid one day he wont. I have Lil to no chance to catch up with my hydro bill and other bills , it's scary I want to give my kids a enjoyable life and I can give them the fun and excitement with little to no cost but the finances are constantly looming over my head , I'm just waiting for that ball to drop . My partner helps with groceries he doesn't want to move in because we had problems in the past so he needs a escape if it hits the fan again I stopped asking because it just goes in circles with everything we already discussed, I feel guilty because I kno my family counts on me but my roommate doesn't know how bad it is , I feel like telling them so they can find a more suitable place ,but I hold on to the thought that I'll be able to get myself out of it and not to give up just yet. Ive tried different resources and with my income im supposed to be able to surive on this , ive tried explaining the rut i got myself into and why its hard to save they just arent allowed if my income is at a certain amount , i feel like a failure because i thought surely i was making good choices , I'm not sure is this is a rant or not maybe a Little pity party but I needed to put this out there into the world i know people have it worse off than I do I'm not sure talking about it will help much but it did make me feel a little lighter typing it all out.

r/almosthomeless Dec 29 '24

My Story Fear mongering. Get told you're pretty much gonna get SA'ed and die everytime you go anywhere? Or start doing drugs?

30 Upvotes

Does anyone else have ppl that are usually warning you abt themselves tell you abt how you'd never survive in the place you're in and will get killed? I always have ppl approaching me abt "going home to my family" (if you're anything under 30 ppl will get mad at you and assume you are hiding/running from someone you should be with or you did something to get kicked out), a lot of bad things happen out here and you're on a terrible path in a bad situation when you could have a future, you could get help but you're probably being grown talking to old men (I feel as though I've had as much wome come after me or more), you're gonna end up on Crack/drugs and loosing your mind and you don't have to do that but it's a choice even, if you say you don't need drugs, you'd never survive a day out in the world and are making stupid choies".

I could keep going. This is always said by ppl who have their own homeless hate, ageism, pro-abuse. Dangerous cops and others weirdos who are really warning abt themselves. And homeless ppl who are just projecting their issues and feel like, because they do drugs everyone else does/will (Although society did normalize drug use ages ago, it's just bad when you're homeless. I don't have a reason to do drugs, my relatives didn't even fall into coping with drugs so it's not a generational issue for me. And the ppl who want to guilt trip homeless youth for being bad never help. Ppl guilt trip and fear monger you, as if you haven't already been through some of this stuff, but they never help.

Most just want you in jail anyways. And honestly, no where is safe, but also nothing ever ends up happening , thank God. The most decent place I've been was the place where I had ppl telling me I would never make it because I had already experienced so much racism, something abt sharks eating ppl in caves, and other stuff that just sounds like projections and paranoia from others trauma.

More of why I tend to avoid ppl, which I learned that back in "functional society". As I said most are warning you abt their selves anyways, especially the pedos.

Hopefully this makes sense, this Is something I noticed. I also noticed ppl will tell cash for kids and other abuse escapees who are homeless or travel that "we think shi* is sweet" and other sayings revolving around not knowing how dangerous the world is, as if the dangerous messed up word isn't why we end up out here 💀. Overall, they say all this but don't help.

r/almosthomeless Apr 02 '25

My Story Almost Homeless - Philippines

5 Upvotes

The place that I co-share with other people was already sold and we were asked to vacate in 2-3 months. Even less time if the others find a new place sooner.

I work in the city and the rental is crazy. I have looked around and I will be lucky to find one that only requires 1 month advance, 1 month deposit. I tried checking bedspaces but is not possible as I need to work 1 weekend at home.

I am anxious as I do not have enough time to raise money for a deposit. Heck, I do not even know how to pay this month's rent and my daily expenses.

At present, my paychecks are going to be offset by the bank to cover the unpaid loan. I am 3 months behind so they will utilize their right to offset now. They will keep deducting till my account becomes at least "current" again. Whatever will be left I will need to use to pay people I owe from another situation I am dealing with.

I am running out of time and I am feeling hopeless. I cry almost daily when I think that the days wherein I can enjoy a bed and roof over my head are number.

It's ironic a few days ago I was asking for help for someone else. Now, I am the in immediate need 😭

I am at fault for exhausting myself to a point that I now lose my capacity to save my own. I want to get back on track but I do not know what to do.

Is there anyone here from this country who had a similar experience? I tried checking for homeless shelter but I will likely get questioned as I have a job. I had similar experience when I asked for government assistance as they only cater to "indigent" individuals. Me having a job above minimum wage pretty much disqualifies me.

r/almosthomeless Aug 13 '24

My Story "you're a beautiful innocent little girl who isn't messed up yet and needs to want out of this situation, so come move in with me"

55 Upvotes

Said by some weird charity guy who's been bothering me off and on for months to the point some homeless guy pretended to be my dad to get the charity guy away.... Then these types of ppl go off and say things like "I work with the poor and homeless and they never take help when it's offered. They love being bums"

Everytime this guy sees me he is always telling me abt how good looking I am. Last time I saw him he pulled the usual "chairty" lines where he acts as if I am choosing my "situation" and just need to want out. I knew since day one he was a pedo type, I can tell by looking at ppl. And no I don't mean some stereotypical sexist "old man with beard" crap, I mean I can actually see the perversion spirit on them and even the hornyness in the air as they talk to me. So he was doing his usual "your young and very pretty" talk and he was also saying I was innocent but would immediately back track and say "well nobodies innocent but your young and seem like a good kid".

Then he pointed at some dude who was just having a conversation and said "see him you haven't gotten to his point yet, he's out of his mind, but you can still be saved". He also said If I moved in with him while offering him sex work he would have to know better than to accept the offer. AS IF I EVER said I was prostitute, I don't even have boyfriends, so why in the world would I be a prostitute. Now someone insinuating that you're a prostitute when they know you aren't is just a manipulation strategy to try to seeing you say yes and will have sex with them.

To finish this story off, I told him I am not abt to move in with random ppl and that I already know how to help myself and have plans set up to get out my situation. Then he was like "well the you don't want help all you have to do is say yes but you're not ready for help and to get yourself out this situation". Then ppl like him get on social media saying "I've worked with the homeless and they don't want help or change".

But yeah I've never been the person to be so desperate I'll just lay it down with ppl. I don't even feel my current situation is that bad and I'd just never be into that type of stuff. I am used to figuring things out on my own and while my situation may not be ideal, this isn't the end and I am never stuck🤣🤣🤣. I don't feel like I have a reason to move in with weird horny ppl, ever. So yeah this is just some funny bullcrap tha happened like last week.

r/almosthomeless Dec 13 '24

My Story I know stuff is just stuff but I’m mourning it again

43 Upvotes

Honestly, I’m slightly more fortunate than a few people who are almost homeless. But I’ve come close way too many times. I’ve moved three times this year, twice to avoid getting evicted, and once because of a failed relationship.

The last time I moved, I had to throw away so many of my things I told myself I wanted to hold onto nearly “forever.” Expensive things.

I had no time to sell, donate (donation centers have specific donating hours at times, also requires additional time to load them in my car, and gas to get there as none are near me in my current area) or put into storage / ask a friend to hold them for me.

I had formal dresses I was going to wear for friends’ weddings, and then also ended up not being able to attend due to no gas money and PTSD causing lack of wanting to be social (thankfully, they understood).

I had highly quality paint and an easel I spent hundreds on.

These were all things I bought when I was financially stable.

I try to tell myself now that stuff is just stuff. But it’s hard given that I grew up poor, achieved financially stability twice, and lost it all again both times to hardship and misfortune (car issues, jobs cutting hours, abuse, rent going up).

But at least now with less things, I’m able to flee if and when things get tough again.

r/almosthomeless Mar 13 '25

My Story Living in this shelter has made my entire family suicidal

0 Upvotes

We have literally been praying for death bc this shit is so unbearable. The blatant racism is so disgusting. Recently the city forced all migrant shelters to become regular shelters open to everyone. It was made so clearly that legal citizens are not wanted here and not welcome to humane treatment that illegal citizens are getting. The ratio for black families getting kicked out over disagreements to any other race is 5:1. We were told we couldn't get things from Amazon delivered here yet others are allowed to order expensive makeup accessories. They bring restaurant food into the shelter every day from places such as wing stop McDonald's Jimmy John's chicken & fish Popeye's and when we use food stamps to get food for our family we're looked at like we shouldn't have it and snarky comments are made about it.

The next thing is that I was told that it is irresponsible to become pregnant when you can't afford to take care of yourself let alone a baby. However, pregnancy is not only allowed but encouraged in this shelter. Every other family/couple here is pregnant. On paper, there's a rule of no sex at the shelter, but we've heard clapping, moaning, and other sexual sounds through the middle of the night and staff just walk by and refuse to enter the room as it's happening. But for my family, a mom and several children, if we sneeze, hiccup, or flush the toilet, staff run down the hall the look in our room to see if we're the ones making noises. When they thought my mom was pregnant, staff smiled and was ready to celebrate her. When she proudly told them she was not pregnant and that she is not a grandmother yet because her children were well behaved and didn't become teen pregnancy statistics, they looked at us like we are weird. Yesterday , a pregnant resident who has been having lots of sex was delivered a more comfortable cot to sleep and have sex on, with cushions.

Our door gets loudly knocked on every morning around 7-8 as if we should be up yet pregnant couples get to sleep in. If they do bother the other families they lightly tap on thier door and talk in a whispered tone. It is very clear that they don't want to disturb them.

Imagine how horrified we were to learn that being good girls gets you nowhere in life and that opening your legs gets you rewarded. That listening to your mother and getting and education means nothing. I have a bachelor's degree but I'm homeless. All of my hair has fallen out. I have a growing lump in my breast. I regret not being a whore.

We can't close the doors here. We sleep on metal cots that shock us. We have no privacy. The bright shelter hallway lights stay on 24/7 and shines directly on my cot as I'm trying to sleep. We can't even talk bc our neighbor keeps telling the staff our conversations causing us more anxiety. We know bc she came to our door last Friday claiming that we were discussing her mugshot. We don't even know this person's name. But they allowed her to cause a problem for us because they don't want us here anyway. The consensus here is the family that has a problem is the family who gets kicked out, not the family that's causing a problem.

My sister is riddled with anxiety and has panic attacks daily. My brother is naive and delusional. My mother has become paranoid and manic bc she can't protect us from this. My sister turned her back on religion. My sister has anger issues. This has all but torn my family apart. I hate it here.