So, the title of this piece has been my plan in a nutshell all along. After being evicted from my apartment, I left my job to try to solve my personal issues so I can try to get a life that works for me.
After five years, eight months and one week, I am back in housing. As of today, I am no longer homeless.
I did not want to go through the shelter system. It seems to be a revolving door for a lot of people. It doesn't necessarily help you actually resolve the problems that led to homelessness to begin with.
If you are homeless, the odds are good that you have one or more intractable problems, such as health issues, learning disabilities, mental health issues and/or fleeing an abusive situation. Yes, there are people who have such problems who aren't homeless. Homelessness usually occurs when the number of issues outweighs the number of resources. In other words, when you have more problems than solutions.
Those problems will not magically go away just because you have a roof over your head. A real home is about more than mere physical shelter.
I have spent my time on the street:
Getting healthier.
Paying down debt.
Developing a portable online income.
Untangling myself from some bad relationships.
Ditching some "professional victim" type behaviors that women are routinely inculcated with.
I wanted a portable online income in part because of my health issues. Working online helps reduce my exposure to germs, etc and generally have more control over my environment.
But I also wanted it so I would be free to live anywhere in the continental US. That detail allowed me to repeatedly move to cheaper places while homeless and, ultimately, to go to a small town where I was able to find a place with cheap enough rent to get off the street.
I ran up my credit card while traveling here, but I expect to be able to work more consistently and earn more money now that I have stable housing. The whole thing was a big adventure and it accomplished some important goals, but I am very glad to have it all behind me.
This is the first day of the rest of my life.
I have no idea if or how much this blog will be updated in the future. But it will certainly be left up as a free resource for those still coping with homelessness.