Introduction to Shelter Living

First off I would like to dispel a myth that all people in a homeless shelter are lazy and don’t want to work and live in a shelter by choice. While I am not disputing that for some it is a lifestyle and they travel from shelter to shelter, with various shelters buying bus tickets just to get them to move on, these people are in the minority. Most women, especially mature women, end up in a shelter because of a traumatic life changing event and are in the precarious position of having no resources left and no other place to go. It is usually a long term illness and subsequent death of a partner, parent or spouse, an ugly divorce after 20+years of marriage or the last straw in an ongoing abusive relationship. Sometimes just being laid off from work and not able to get other employment soon enough can cause one’s life to collapse. Whatever the case may be a homeless shelter is never a choice only a last resort. The agonizing decision to actually go to a homeless shelter only comes after all options, including suicide have been ruled out (at least for the moment) and it is never ever an easy one.Living in a shelter is not only depressing and demoralizing but it emphasizes the hopelessness of a desperate situation. It will crush your spirit and drag you down faster than anything else. Mature single women in a shelter are being warehoused..........stored, no one really knows what to do with them, there is no where for them to go, there is no support program in place, no one to talk to and no one to help figure out what to do with the rest of your life. Let’s face it in this economy college graduates with PhDs cannot find jobs and for women over the age of 55 it is impossible to get a job that pays a living wage, especially since many have been out of the workforce for several years. Too old to get a job, not old enough for social security (if even eligible), what can one do…….Shelters are designed as transitional housing, for a few days or weeks until other options are made available. For most mature women these options might not become available for months, possibly years. Currently their needs are not addressed by any program or organization. As Babyboomers reach that age group this social crisis will become more apparent than ever before.