Where to even begin? I am going to start with… I hope everyone/anyone reading this is doing well. Now to begin the complications I have found myself in. As I have said before I have found myself and my kids in a very difficult situation as we were forced out of our home we lived in for eight years (not due to any fault of my own) as the owner/landlord decided to sell earlier than the ten year mark as he stated would be the end of the lease and either I can buy if he’s ready to sell or renew for ten years. So I wasn’t ready to buy at that moment and I had to move out asap. My grandparents home was/is vacant as they recently passed away and the estate is just up in the air to their six children and I asked if I could stay there until I got into something. Trying to find a place to rent has been challenging, as I don’t make three times the rent in income. Therefore, I had to go to every agency such as housing and section eight to help me get into something. The lists are years out and in most places section eight is closed for years. But when section eight/housing choice voucher does open and if your lucky enough to get on the list- the wait is at min a year or more. I had gone to HUD and many county assistance offices and housing agencies but none can help me and my family. At this point we had gone to a shelter to get on their list if they had one and we were turned away from the shelter since they were full. I am looking every single day for a place to move into but every place is either wanting 3X the rent in income or the application process takes way too long as we need immediate housing. Well with that I received a call from my one Aunt and she flipped out on me because I was not allowed (by the Eletric company) to pay my grandfathers bill and she was turning the power off because he is deceased. She then said I couldn’t put it in my Aunts name because she has to do it herself and she was shutting the power off right now. Needless to say she had me put it in my name so that I wasn’t charging anyone else’s bills and said that the estate has to take care of his bill or I can pay it if I want after they send the final bill. I figured my Aunt would be mad about this but Waldo didn’t want the power off and I certainly don’t mind it being in my name while I’m here. So I went forward with turning the power in my name and my Aunt just got his final bill and she flipped out on me about it. Started saying how I’m not homeless but in the same breath saying how she’s on her way to the magistrates to have me and the kids removed by the sheriff. I should have known that this was going to happen. She then says I’m living rent free and my kids dad didn’t leave me and we are living the great life rent free. I remained her how i already paid the gas bill ($600+) the day I came here and I had to replace all the water lines and had PEX installed because all the pipes in the basement were sprung leaks. The faucets were so old that they couldn’t even be turned anymore as they were rusted solid. I had to replace all those. She then says she will pay me for what I have fixed up here (she will not she is lying and will not like the bill for the stuff up here) and she and my Uncle want the house back so they can sit up here and cry. Mind you I came here and it was alleviating a huge problem for her not having to keep up with the maintenance like grass and so on. Also the bills were now not her problem either. Needless to say she wants me out asap. My sister spoke to her and I have now 30 days to find a place or we will live in my broken van in a parking lot someplace. People are so cruel. I promise when this is all said and done we will have zero communication with them (my Aunt and those wanting my kids and I out) anymore for forcing my family into the streets if we can’t get into a place. That’s only a small portion of my week. I’m so sad that I can’t make this work for my kids mostly because they just want a home and their lives back and I am failing at that. School starts soon and I can’t even register my daughter for kindergarten until I know where we are going to live. I reached out to their old school because HUD told me there’s a law that states if we are homeless that children can attend at their old district. Hoping we don’t have to do that but it’s an option at least. At any rate having to figure this out has been challenging and super eye opening to those people on fixed incomes and disabled. One day when I’m settled I plan to fight for people like me and people who have been through the same stuff as I have in my life. Since so much has happened I am going to end it there and I will write another blog about what is happening to me later as this one is long and a lot to read already. Praying no one else has or had to suffer the same as myself and my family.
Author Archives: Adrenalyn Max
Just another brick wall
I’m not feeling too good about finding a place. I’m super upset that the government is giving away money to people to buy homes and then I found out that the man who bought the house we lived in for 8 years that I wanted to buy when my daughters SSD went through was purchased by one of those people who was given stipend money for coming here and bought my house from my old landlord. How can these things even be happening. Here I am disabled and the daughter and of Veterans and the ex wife of a veteran also and the government is throwing money at those people who are not even US citizens. Feel like fighting for our Country and our Freedoms doesn’t pay off but if you come here with nothing but some story to tell you will be handed a house a car and everything needed to live “The American Dream”. I remember when I began college and had to take all the regular classes I had written an essay about living The American Dream and thinking how blessed am I to have been born here in America where Dreams do come true. Ha. What a joke. I guess I’m hurt and feeling abandoned and lost all while not having any place to live with my four children. Their father just left us behind and we couldn’t get assistance from any agency even when we stood at their door crying and begging them to help. But sure enough if we cross the border we would get some help. I wouldn’t be charged with CHILD ABUSE for dragging my kids the long distance to get to the border but we would be given loads of money and more. This country is backwards and treating their own like immigrants and treating the aliens like their own. See where O live CPS would take my kids if I drug them across borders and put them in danger. If we stave or go without water they would charge us with neglecting our kids and then take them away from us. These are facts!! I’m not making none of these things up. I’m just broken, depressed, hurt, angry, and more. I have been trying to seem like all is well for my children as not to make things even harder since their Dr is saying that moving and dad leaving and the instability is affecting the kids pretty harshly so I’m doing what I can to help them stay focused on school coming soon and anything else I can help them see as a positive but I guess as a parent that’s what we are supposed to do even though everything is falling apart around us. May my prayers be heard and God carry us through these hard times. Just left to praying because unless some Pa representative or politician gets involved I am not going to be getting any help from anyone. We will find ourselves on the streets or in a tent because the government only has aid for people not being US citizens. So sad.
Immigrants getting MONEY & STIPENDS
Immigrants are getting $1800 a month per Adult and $900 a month per CHILD ALSO GETTING A STIPEND TO BUY A VEHICLE AND A HOUSE OR PAY THEIR RENT FOR TEN YEARS. They get food stamps and medical and dental and all kinds of stuff but here I am a Army Brat as BOTH my parents were in the Army and I was born at an Army Medical Center I’m also divorced from a Service member and I am ACTUALLY HOMELESS AND CANT GET ANY HELP!!! I have reached out to 211, UNITED WAY, CEO, National Helpline for Veterans and their Families, Red Cross, HUD, DHS, Assistance Office, Housing, and more and was even turned away from a shelter with my 4 kids! This is the CRAZY PRESIDENT AND CRAZY COUNTRY WE LIVE IN!! If I spoke Spanish I would 100% cross the border and come back over a whole new nobody and have my hand out too. Here I am can’t even get ANY HELP AT ALL! I have multiple places working for me to find shelter/housing and I’m out of luck!! I have 4 KIDS!!! What’s wrong with this Country?? Why can’t I get a place but basically Aliens can get into a place and get all kinds of perks!! I’m really at the end of my rope and I feel like how much more can I possibly take??? What else is going to happen to me/us? How do I get the same as they are getting?? Someone has to know a way for my family to get help even if we HAVE TO TRAVEL AND MOVE We just need a home to call our own to offer routine and stability to my kids. Any advice is welcomed.
Trying to keep it all together
Good morning. Well it could certainly be a good one for many people but not so much for me. But I guess it’s just one of those things we say even when things aren’t so good. Anywho, last night was a night to remember. My EX (kids father) came to get his truck and trailer from my Grams property and he seen three of the four kids (the oldest ones as the baby was asleep already) and of course he tells them how he has a two bedroom apartment and that’s where he lives now etc. This created some confusion and trauma for the kids who are already in a delicate and stressful situation since I did speak to my two kid’s Psychiatrist who specifically said that if we split up now during this situation we are in it can cause damage to them. I understood because they had lived at the same house all their lives and they have had their parents together all their lives and their personal belongings (now in storage) and of course the cat (which I have to send away). The Dr explained that under the stress they are showing signs of regression (peeing their pants etc) and to add unnecessary stress to their little minds and hearts would be not a good time to split up. I had told him (Dad) this after speaking to him on the phone after the meeting between the psychiatrist and I, and without regard for their psyche he up and left anyways. Funny thing is that when we left our home to come to my grams he said on the way here “we wouldn’t have had no place to go because I have a 2bedroom on standby”. Well I told my family he said that because he had this 2 bedroom apartment but he forced me to figure out where we were going to live until we got into what we ultimately wanted which was to move South so I could be closer to my sister for help with the kids. My family told me yes he has an apartment on standby for himself because he refuses to be responsible and pay for his children and their needs. He is going to Grams with you because it’s free and sure enough when I told him we have a date to go by he told me he was not coming with me and going to his apartment on standby. I have all four kids with me 24/7 so finding a place to go is not easy and applying for places to rent is not easy either since I can’t even write to fill out applications because they are just stressed and they begin arguing or fighting or running around etc. I am still going to apply at places even though my kids are a handful during this period. I believe that this is all a direct response to the pandemic. I believe my old landlord had to sell because of money problems because of the pandemic and we were just in the line of fire so to speak. Needless to say I don’t really have much of an update on life other than it certainly can get worse and I have learned not to say that anymore. I’m hurt, stressed, and frustrated with this whole situation but because I need to fix this for my children I am holding it together and I will release all the pain when we are settled someplace with all their belongings and they are content and happy and have their routines and stability the way we are used to. May God have mercy on me and my babies! Praying
Abandoned
I’m not really sure how much harder this has to get before God feels I hit rock bottom. But even after we were turned away from the shelter I tried to get us signed up for yesterday I returned to where we have to live until the 1st and my NOW EX packed up his things and Abandoned Us. I just feel like when things got the hardest he decides to up and leave. We would’ve been together for 10 years in October. I will say this though because he left at such a time of desperation I am very stubborn and I will absolutely not take him back when I eventually fix everything and find a place etc. he will have to remain wherever it is he has gone to. This is completely unacceptable. It will be some time before I can get him on support for our children but as it stands the kids and finding a home for us to live in is my only REAL concern and Priority right now.
Homeless in three days…
Well needless to say I’m now in a position where my whole life is changing and not for anything better. I have four kids under 8 and we have called and reached out to every single place that I could to get some help and everything is wait lists long and many lists are closed. I was specifically told that the only way for me to get on specific lists is if we are physically staying at a shelter. Therefore it looks like we will be going to a shelter until we find a place that is a grand or less a month. I also can’t understand that all the rentals want me to fill out an application and they want to run my credit (which is good) but they are saying that we can still not be given the place. That to me seems backwards. I feel like they shouldn’t be able to run my credit unless they plan to rent me the place as long as my credit is good of course. Because if each place runs my credit then it’s going to go down because of all the hard pulls looking at it. It’s just not right to me. I couldn’t begin to describe how devastating this has all been. Then being so hot because it’s summer my a/c went in my van and my kids are all hot and miserable and it just makes matters so much worse. Anyone else out there in my position, you ARE NOT ALONE. I often feel so alone in this world and that these things couldn’t possibly happen to others all in the same time frame as they seem to happen to me but trust me I thought I was at the bottom and then I was rear ended and the driver took off and at that moment I said I wouldn’t ever say again that it couldn’t be worse because it certainly could be worse. It can always get worse. Praying we are safe at shelters and on the streets navigating through these tough times. We are going to start driving in the morning and hope we end up in a good place that we can start over and find a place to rent until everything begins to get better. I will again update after the weekend is over. Hoping with great news!!! I’m praying for all those in my situation and those whom are suffer like us. Let me add that we were turned away at the local shelter they don’t have room for us and the shelter worker lady has a dog she brings to work daily and she was making a point to say how she brings her dog to work every day and how my kids are scaring her dog. So we can’t stay there either. Just a long day.
I’m sorry, I missed a post Monday
I’m writing late because my whole world seems to be spinning out of control. Long story sort of short… My landlord of 8 years all of a sudden decided to sell my home and I had to move out asap because I couldn’t buy it fast enough. We had a ten year verbal lease so because of the verbal part there was nothing I could do legally to stop this process so to avoid eviction I just moved out. I had gone to a storage facility and rented two storage units for my house belongings. I was able to secure a temporary short stay at my grandparents home because it was empty since they passed away and now since I began fixing up their home and staying here my family has decided they want to buy it and I have to move out asap. Having four kids in tow at all times is not easy for me but I am in desperate times and we have to find a place in FIVE DAYS! I have called every single assistance agency and looked at thousands of places for rent. If you don’t make 3X the rent in income you can’t even apply for the properties. I only make half that amount and all the subsidized housing places have extensive wait lists. I’m just beyond desperate and stressed and becoming increasingly depressed because I have to keep my kids in a home and finding this is a big challenge for me to do. I wanted nothing more than to move to South Georgia or north Florida to be closer to my sister but at this point in time I can’t move there because I can’t find a place for us to live from here and like here all places require 3X the rent. The only bonus is I am on the list for housing in Florida but that can take FOUR YEARS I was told. I have started looking at shelters for women and children too even though that would prove to be extremely difficult having two kids with disabilities. But that’s where I am at today. Things just seem to be spiraling out of control. I feel like I have a black cloud and can’t catch a break. Looking for the light at the end of this dark tunnel…..
Ed Sheeran Concert
Well here it is. So I am currently seeking a place to live that I can’t get into because I don’t make the required income. I’m trying to find help and all the lists are years long so I will be in my van with four kids come August 1st. I begged my sister to come up and take me to see Ed Sheeran in concert for my Birthday (prior to knowing the lists are crazy long and I can’t get a place to live) and he cancelled that particular show. So my birthday was a bust. Needless to say my sister went on a trip to Tennessee to see her friend and sends me a pic of a church saying guess who they are setting up for? I said please don’t say Ed Sheeran and of course it’s HIM!! And here I am calling CRISIS because my two kids are having major problems with their behaviors under the stress and situations we are in and I have to have my CAT whose ten years old euthanized because of my situation and kids. As I went to a meeting for Parents of kids with similar issues I was hit and ran. Honestly I feel these things don’t happen to people the same. It’s just piling on me and I often wonder how I haven’t cracked already. As I type my two are fighting. Does it ever get better? Will I ever catch a break will I ever not have this black cloud following me? I’m a good person and an honest person and caring and compassionate and giving and more. I don’t drink I don’t do drugs I am a 24/7 mom and that’s it. I FINALLY Graduated College with my ASW and thought that was a huge accomplishment but things have just been downhill ever since! Why is my life so hard and why does all these things keep piling on? I have been at rock bottom since June 15th being homeless with my children praying to catch a break and nope it just gets worse and worse. If this isn’t JUST ME please tell me because I feel like I’m drowning in despair. Nothing has gone right for months now. Am I alone in this? I FEEL SO ALONE!!
Introduction
Hello! My name is Adriana. I would like to Thank You for visiting my site and reading my thoughts and life stories and I hope that my experiences and circumstances will help you and others feel you/they are certainly not alone. I often think the things that happen to me, as often as they happen, couldn’t possibly happen to others but I have found that my experiences are not as uncommon or unusual as I once believed. I am a mother to six children two of whom are teenagers and I will not mention. I will often speak of my youngest four children who are ages 8, 6, 4 & 2. Out of the four my oldest and youngest are boys and both middle children are girls. Two of my children have ADHD and ODD (my 8 year old son and my 4 year old daughter). Being a mother is certainly a blessing! But with that being said at times it can be so difficult to just manage the day to day. The days begin very early and seem to feel like they are so long even though I know that this will one day all be a fleeting memory of when my kids were small. I do my best to try and appreciate these days since I know they don’t last forever. Trying to balance everything often feels like I’m treading water against the tide and getting absolutely nowhere. I will certainly be discussing the difficulties of having children with ADHD and ODD, homelessness, depression, anxiety, loss, and the struggles of advocating for yourself and your children and really just trying to navigate the world with them and for them. That’s to come later on as time moves forward. I am happy to have you here as I share my trials, tribulations and life with the world.
