Gratitude!!!

It has been one year on April 17th that I got on a bus from Salvation Army and moved back to my home state of Wisconsin after 20 plus years in Florida. To go from the fast paced life, to a small suburban area has been an adjustment to be sure.

I have been in recovery and have completed one school term at a technical college. Many tragic moments have been in my previous life. Life is still a struggle at times for me and when I feel like the chips are down I miss the life on the streets because of the freedom of nothingness. I must constantly remind myself how lucky I am to be in subsidized housing, a great recovery program, new friends that care, and mostly caring for myself.

This forum is hard to peek into the tragedies that are running rampent everywhere. All the more reason for me to continue getting myself well and accomplish to help others.;)

Congratulations! You have done a lot in a year! Its wonderful that you want to help others too.

Congratulations Judy, :)

Konstantin

Welcome Judy and thank you for believing in yourself and fighting on. You may not be acknowledged elsewhere for that, but you are acknowledged here.

Hi Judy,

I can totally identify with everything you said. I've now been off the streets for a while, but a year ago even though I got into a great shelter, I just wanted to be back out there. It was so much easier to be on the streets with no responsibility and lots of drugs to block out my pain. I stayed in my accomodation, went to detox, spent a year working on myself, and despite my longheld belief that life never gets better (based on my experiences), it has. Don't get me wrong, I know some things aren't easily fixed, I lived for all of that year with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder due to what I've seen, I know it's not like
"you're off the streets, what have you got to complain about?". But now with time I'm happy, live almost unsupported, and have cut down my drug use significantly. For me, being able to do that and come through everything, now I know I can do anything.

Keep on going Judy, you can make it. You already have. It sounds like life's tough for you right now, but it does get better. If you had enough strength to leave the place you lived for twenty years lfor a life free of drugs, which is an incredible step in itself, think about your potenial. You MUST be an incredible person. Happiness is a journey, not a destination, so be true to yourself and follow your own star.

Sk8r girl.

This forum is hard to peek into the tragedies that are running rampent everywhere. All the more reason for me to continue getting myself well and accomplish to help others.
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The thing about these forums Judy is that there is a whole wealth of first hand experience that make up the content of what we discuss. Your own postings for example ... and those of sk8r_rat are a major contribution to what the forums are about.
We don't sit in an office looking out of a window at the homeless problem. We have been / are directly involved with the issues ..
I think that this is what sets Dominic apart from many of his counterparts .. although I suspect that his modesty will kick in when he reads this. ( Not to mention my butt getting kicked ..:eek: )

Dominic is also hands on in the homeless issues, not only as service provider and the running of these unique forums .. but his street work ensures his finger is always on the pulse of what is happening on the streets thus ensuring that he has a comprehensive understanding of what he is talking about .. That is hope for the homeless in itself.

For many years the voice of homeless people has gone unheard, mainly because there wasn't a medium to deliver that voice .. times are changing, and we can but hope that peoples attitudes will change also.

Here in London we have our own homeless Magazine ..' the pavement ' .. it is still young but the circulation is increasing and both the homeless community and service providers are the contributors / readership. It publishes the homeless issues and questions the decisions of those in authority that are involved in homelessness.

http://www.thepavement.org.uk/ .. click latest issue. This mag is charity based and requires no subscription.

Whilst these forums can rarely offer much by way of practical help, what they do offer is the understanding that you can communicate with people that understand what you are going through .. In that sense you will never be alone... Where else can this be done .. and allow you to remain anonymous if you so desire .. ?

As for you sk8r_rat I think that you are in a very powerful position when it comes to making people sit up and think ... The case that you put over cannot be ignored by those that would wish to do so .. well done to you, and keep that writing going. You are a inspiration to many of your age group.