What a difference a year makes!

It's been a year since I have been able to use my site. In that time I have lost and learned much. I ended up back in the shelter for homeless veterans. Once I returned I worked hard toward using the system to acquire stability. There are many programs that are available to keep us off the street and for many, rehabilitation. I looked into to what is called  HUD VASH. This is a section 8 program for veterans. I applied and waited. The mayors office sent a representative to help those of us who already had housing vouchers move out faster. Designated apartments reps from the Bronx came to help them apply and were approving some right on the spot! The ones of us that were still waiting for vouchers had to sit and in frustration because of various issues holding back our progress. The mayors rep was only acting like he was helping us. He wrote notes on our issues of concerns and promised to get back to us. He never did. I called him and left messages for hime that he never returned. For weeks I tried to catch him at the shelter but because of my hectic work schedule I always missed him. This went on for two weeks. When I finally did see him he had no idea who I was or what i was talking about. This was the same the other women. At the time there were only ten of us left in the women's dorm.  I was still working at the security company and singing when I could. I swear, singing at the Sugar Bar doing background vocals made my weeks bearable. The women were told that we had until after Thanksgiving before we were moved. stress of living in that place was starting to turn for the worse for us female veterans.
Word had come from the housing authorities that the women were to be taken out of the facility in Long Island City, Queens and moved to New Lots area of Brooklyn. No one was happy about that! We were forced to move out earlier than expected one Saturday morning.
The particular shelter we were to be moved to was nothing like where we were being housed. The Long Island City veterans shelter provided a more humanistic atmosphere. There are individual cubicles, a desk, a tall wall locker and clean bathrooms and visible security. There is a general level of respect even from the inhabitants, a commonality of sorts. But, Brooklyn offered no such thing. There, an open bay sleeping quarters awaited us with zero privacy. There were ten to a room, five on each side with one waist length wall locker. No one expected to live in the Ritz  being homeless but we at least expected to be safe! There was no safety. Security was minimal. There were fights all the time between residents. The place looked and felt like a prison. Being that I worked nights it was especially hard on me. During the day I use to be able to sleep at the previous shelter but not here. There were no walls beside me to keep me safe from the next person. The other women would yell of bang into my bed to wake me up, then would quiet down when I was startled awake. There was no peace. One day as I was showering, someone stole my shirt right off the rack outside the stall. The place often ran out of toilet tissue. I had to turn in the sheets they gave me multiple times because they weren't clean. There was always something stuck to it or stained onto it. I was constantly spraying  my area with lysol. Some people had the their entire lives packed under their beds. I had to stuff all I had into that tiny wall locker. Even my shower shoes because I knew it could be stolen. I was beginning to feel more desperate than I ever had in LIFE!