Anchor Babies

Just when I thought I had seen it all........ About 4 weeks ago an older Mexican woman was dropped off at the shelter by her son. She does not speak one word of English and she is blind. I am assuming that this was recent development since the poor woman has had no training to deal with blindness. She is totally dependent on other residents to help her with dressing, walking her to the restroom, taking her to the cafeteria and anything else that arises. Dorm staff at the shelter is basically for security purposes, they do not assist in personal issues. The case managers are there from 9-5 and seem to be too overwhelmed to get her into a facility that can teach her to cope with blindness.
Of course, this could be complicated by the issue that the lady could very well be illegal. It's difficult to get the whole story, she does not speak English, staff is bound by client confidentiality and the Spanish speaking residents are not exactly forthcoming with translation or assistance. At this point the poor thing is groping her way around the shelter and trying to make the best of it. There is one older Mexican lady at the shelter, she has been there about 10 years, and she is the only one that has even tried to help the woman, but her English is so bad she really is not able translate.

I guess I don't understand the cultural differences, but how can a son just drop his blind mother at a homeless shelter and drive off. Especially since the son seems to be doing O.K.,he drives a late model Hummer and dresses well. Meanwhile the poor women is confused, she has no idea what is going on, and the few people that do care and want to help, cannot communicate with her, and the ones that can do not want to be bothered.

Update

Have not been able to blog for a while, my laptop that I bought one e-bay for $100.00 finally gave up. I can't complain though, it got me through 4 semesters of school, and between research, term papers and blogging had quite a workout for an old laptop. More than likely would have lasted a bit longer if one of the girls at the shelter, while trying to be helpful, had not dropped it. It still worked for a while, but the bezel was cracked and eventually the screen went black. I did check into getting it fixed but it was cost prohibitive for the age and configuration.

Lesson learned: carry everything myself, even if it takes multiple trips in the rain.

So I started the fall semester using the school's computers, however with the huge influx of new students (four thousand more than the previous semester) the computer commons was always overcrowded and usually people were waiting in line for computers between classes. It would not have been right to take up computer time with a personal blog even if the library monitors would have allowed it.
Because of the explosion in enrollment there was also a computer glitch with processing FAFSA applications and grants and as luck would have it my renewal was affected by the glitch and my application was among the several hundred that had to be started all over again. It was almost at the end of the semester before I finally received my grant check that normally would have come in August.
Of course we all know that when it rains, it pours! So on top of everything else my car broke down right when the insurance and renewal was due. I am sitting at the shelter with no school books, a broken down car with expired plates and insurance. I was afraid to ask what next!
A former shelter resident I had kept in touch with, offered to loan me money till my check arrived, which, as much as I hate to borrow money, I gratefully accepted. So I purchased the books I needed, many were outdated versions just to get by, found someone that would work on my car and wait to get paid, as long as I bought the parts. Again my friend stepped up to the plate and not only loaned me money for the parts but drove the mechanic to get them, while I was in class.
Boy, you sure find out who you can count on when you are in a jam, but then I already knew that. None of my former friends have even bothered to inquire how I am, once they found out that I had to sell the beach house to cover a portion of my husband's medical expenses, was loosing my home to foreclosure after my husband's death and deeply in debt with no place to live, they totally disassociated themselves. I truly think they were afraid I would ask them for help, which in my case was never even a consideration. I don't inflict my problems on other people, but it would have been nice if someone would have at least acknowledged the fact that I still exist. I hope that all my former so-called friends never have to find out what it's like to be in my situation, alone and dead broke and no one cares enough to invite you to dinner over the holidays. Maybe they were afraid that my "vintage" Volvo would bring down property values in their neighborhood.

Luckily just before Thanksgiving my check finally arrived and I was able and to pay off my debts and get a new laptop just in time for finals, but am still working on getting my license plates and insurance re-instated.

Where to begin.....it started at 4:45AM when Al(my favorite kitchen staff person) knocked on the dorm window, (she knows I sleep by the window) and asked if I could help with breakfast. She was planning Chorizo and eggs with tortillas, some fresh juices that were donated yesterday and since the coffee machine is finally fixed, we were having coffee. Al had started cooking the Chorizo, about 20 dozen eggs had been cracked the day before, so it was an easy job, whip the eggs, drain the sausage and scramble eggs on the grill. Heat the tortillas in the microwave and we are ready to go. We served 150 breakfasts on time at 6AM and everyone was happy. Alicia and I had steelcut oatmeal with cranberries, raisins and pecans. Much healthier! Then we prepped about 10 whole Turkeys for dinner, I made a spice rub and they came out looking beautifully. Have no idea how they taste since I am vegetarian, but they are having turkey and broccoli fettuccine for dinner, which will be good since the meat is chunked and not shredded as usual.
I had to leave by 7AM to go to the park to help trap a pregnant kitty, which was not successful. I had her in my hand but the lady from the rescue group wanted her in a trap and would not let me put her in the carrier. It would have been an easy "scruff and stuff", but by trying to get her in the trap it gave her too much time and space to fight and she won. She always lets me pet her and comes up to me but when she sees the trap she takes off. Hopefully I can catch her in the next day or two.
My friend was feeding by herself today and she was happy to see me and we finished the route together, close to 200 abandoned cats were fed and watered in record time.
Around 10:30 I went back to the shelter to take a shower and poor Al was having a lunch crisis. Again no help. I can shower after lunch! So we heated a bunch of frozen pizzas, made a green salad, added tomatoes and served iced watermelon for dessert.
People are supposed to volunteer 15 hours a week to be able to stay at the shelter and it seems that always the same few that volunteer while everyone else takes off or hides.

Choices

I have been so focused on mature women at the shelter that I paid little attention to other issues, until a few weeks ago when a young lady, (I later found out she was just 19,) came up to me and tearfully asked if she could talk to me. We went for a walk and she started telling me she had just been diagnosed with an STD and was late as well. She had become sexually active while at the shelter and made an obviously bad choice. The guy had since dumped her for someone else at the shelter and she was left not knowing what to do next. I took her to speak to the medical coordinator and made sure she received medical attention for the STD, luckily the pregnancy test came back negative, so that crisis was averted.
This is a sweet innocent girl of 19, with no life experience to speak of, raised in a small community and is in the street because her mother recently died and her father is too busy with his new family to be bothered with her. When she called and told him about her mother's death and asked to live with him, he refused, claiming she made her choice during the divorce several years ago, and she was over 18 and on her own. Personally I applaud her for making the choice to live with her mother, since the father cannot possibly much of a human being to put his grieving child at risk by refusing to provide for her because legally he no longer has to. Her mother died in March and she has been at the shelter about 3 month, totally at lose ends. I was just glad she felt comfortable enough to confide in me. We had many serious talks about her future and how to get her off the streets. We used my cellphone and her mother's address book to call relatives and family friends and after several weeks of trying we hit pure gold. Her mother's college room mate and her husband opened their heart and home to her. Her Mom's friend has already arranged for her to join in a grieve counseling group as soon as she arrives to help her deal with the death of her mother and her father's rejection.
They have made provisions for her to get a part time job for now and want her to go to college full time by next fall. She is overjoyed at the prospect even though it means flying across country, she has only flown once before in her life. We were actually able to shame her father into paying for her plane ticket and and I took her to the airport Friday morning. It was a happy and tearful good bye and she emailed that she arrived safely and loves it there. She knew her mom's friend and had spent a couple of summers with them when she was younger and her parents were going through a messy divorce.
While I did not mind helping the poor girl, I feel her counselor/case worker really dropped the ball, by not ferreting out options and possibilities for her. To leave an obviously naive 19 year old to her own devices, while still grieving the loss of a parent is unconscionable.. I shudder just thinking about what could have happened to her had she stayed at the shelter.

Choose your option

Option 1 $10.00 Option 2 $25.00 Option 3 $50.00

Realities

This place is a family shelter, so they house men as well in order not to split up the family unit. That opens up a whole other can of worms. Most of these men are dogs (no nicer way to put it) and will mess around even in the shelter. Some of the women here are not much better by going for it. That of course creates lots of jealousies and arguments in families and the children as usual take the brunt of it. Mom and Dad are fighting, consequently distracted from supervising their children and the situation turns into chaos. As I said before, it is a warehouse for people and when people are left to their own devices in this type of situation, it brings out their worst qualities.

I especially feel sorry for women trying to escape domestic violence, the last thing they need, is to be subjected to a bunch of overbearing arrogant men, that have nothing to be arrogant about. They are not willing to care for the family they have but that does not stop them from starting another one with someone they just met..... in the shelter. I have seen that happen more than once since I have been here and the men are never held accountable.
It is all very sad and discouraging and mature women are especially vulnerable to bouts of depression.
If I ever questioned (and trust me I did...... many times) why I ended up in a shelter, I have come to realize that there is a purpose for me. There have to be changes implemented in how society views women below the poverty line.  This is America in the 21st century and this is a serious issue and we have get serious about resolving it. It's not enough to do things right anymore we have to step up to the plate and do the right thing! 
Can I bring about those changes? I'll never know unless I try!  Will I fall flat on my face, probably, but  I'll get up and try again until my vision is a reality.
When I first arrived at the shelter I was on a top bunk and my bunk mate was a rather difficult person (so everyone said). I just figured she was very private and did not want to make friends in low places, lol. I had been there about 3 weeks and got to know her a little, she did not have an easy live, an abusive husband (deceased) who had made her an introvert since she was not allowed to talk to people and  her middle son had recently died. Her oldest son had wanted her to live with him and his family but her youngest son was getting paroled from prison, had to live with a family member and was not welcome at his brothers house. So Mom came to Bakersfield, stayed at the shelter waiting for one son to get paroled and for the estate of the other son to get settled. She was the sole beneficiary of a substantial estate and would be able to rent a place while her youngest son completed parole and then move where ever she wanted to. On a Saturday morning at 3AM I woke up and while climbing down off my top bunk almost stepped on my bunk mate. During the night she had collapsed on the dorm floor and had died there, with 40 people in the room getting up and down half the night, nobody saw, heard or did anything. When I went screaming down the hall to alert staff, an ambulance was called but it was obviously too late. 
I found out later that she had been complaining about not feeling good for several days, but she was not very well liked so no one paid attention. We did not interact a great deal, I was filling in for the pastry chef at a busy restaurant, working 10 hour shifts and riding the bus for another 3 hours to get back and forth.
She had told me that Friday evening that she was meeting with her attorney on Monday to get  the settlement check and then moving to a motel while looking for an apartment for her and her son. I still have nightmares and feel guilty for having taken a sleeping pill that night. This is something that will haunt me for the rest of my life, no one deserves to die like that! If I can be instrumental in preventing this from happening to someone else, I will have done the right thing and maybe I'll be able to sleep again.

Choose your option

Option 1 $10.00 Option 2 $25.00 Option 3 $50.00

Where there is no vision, the people perish. Proverbs 29:18

Having been a volunteer and resident at a homeless shelter for over a year I can see a tremendous need for  transitional housing for indigent women over the age of 55. Many are displaced homemakers who through no fault of their own find themselves in the unattainable position of having no place to live with little or no resources. They are not yet old enough for social security (if they are even eligible) and very little opportunity to be able to secure employment in today’s economy.
Homeless shelters are designed for emergency housing, a few days or weeks at the most. Women are literally warehoused on bunk beds  in a dormitory environment with no privacy and no future. Some have been there for years. There are small lockers for a few personal possessions and hygiene items, which, unless they are able to buy it themselves, have to be requisitioned from the warehouse and are only available certain days each month….in other words - it takes an act of congress to get anything. For most mature women, who have been productive, had careers and have raised families, having to "beg" for necessities is embarrassing. What these women need is a safe haven, were they can feel secure and can try to regain their balance to rebuild their lives, they do not need to be demoralized any further.
When mature women end up in a shelter the cause is usually a very traumatic life changing event like the death of a spouse and partner, having put their own life and career on hold to care for an elderly parent, an ugly divorce after 20+ years of marriage, or reaching the last straw in a long term abusive relationship, sometimes it is as simple as being laid off from work and not being able to find employment. Whatever the reason, their life is in shambles and they need more than emergency housing to put it back together.
Most of the women are able to work if given the opportunity and would like to be productive, but for many transportation is an issue. Public transportation is not always reliable, many times does not go close enough to the desired destination, leaving  women vulnerable  having to walk to and from bus stops in unsafe neighborhoods after dark.
My vision is to purchase a defunct motel or large ranch type house, remodel it to "platinum green standards" thereby creating a healthy, non toxic environment that is energy resourceful and at the same time a place were women can regain self worth, make peace with their current situation and start rebuilding their lives.  Yoga classes and meditation will be incorporated into a health and fitness program for all residents.
Residents will be required to participate in the day to day operations of this facility, therefore keeping staff  and salaries to a minimum. Our staff will be trained to search out available state and federal programs to assist residents to become self supporting again.
Our pilot facility will be kept small, limiting the residents to 20 approx, depending on the size. We are planning to make the facility pet friendly since having to surrender a loved pet to an animal shelter increases the stress and trauma of being homeless by a significant margin. Pet policies will be in place and only altered pets will be permitted. We will secure discounted veterinary services from a local animal clinic and solicit pet food donations from manufacturers and local stores. In order to assist residents, we will canvass the city for jobs, anything from full-time employment to part-time office help, catering parties, house cleaning, dog or babysitting and care giving. 2 vans, staffed by residents will provide transportation. My vision includes a garden were residents can grow organic vegetables, herbs and flowers. We will have a computer room and an area for art and crafts projects, i.e. painting, quilting,  provide training and encourage residents to make and sell their items on-line. We would like to incorporate a small shop were residents can sell their crafts from handmade quilts and afghans to home-made candles and soaps to become more self sufficient. Everyone is entitled to live out their life in dignity and with pride and be productive as long as possible.
Our funding will come from corporate grants, corporate sponsors as  well as local businesses and individual donors.

Choose your option

Option 1 $10.00 Option 2 $25.00 Option 3 $50.00

Rite-Aid has NO conscience nor have they read their mission statement

Check out the consumer complaints about Rite-Aid http://www.consumeraffairs.com/rx/riteaid.html

In Dec around 7PM I shopped at a recently opened Rite-Aid Location in California and upon exiting, stepping from a very brightly lit store into a very dark walk way and parking lot, I tripped over an unmarked curb and fell. First off I was very lucky that I “only” injured my right ankle and my pride, because even after people pointed out to employees that someone was injured in their walkway, Rite-Aid employees huddled in the doorway just gawking.  I am in my sixties and they did not even bother to check whether I fell, was having a heart attack or was mugged outside their store. Now about 5-7 minutes had gone by, my right ankle was the size of a cantaloupe and throbbing. My friend had finally completed her purchases, saw me and came rushing over, grabbing for her cell phone.  About the same time a couple stopped, as luck would have it she was an ortho nurse, took one look at my ankle and insisted her husband scoop me up off the ground and they drove me to the hospital. Rite-Aid employees waited till I was in the truck before one of them gingerly approached with clipboard in hand to take down information.

 I was appalled by the lack of concern shown by Rite-Aid employees and the time it took to come to the aid of an injured customer. Rite-Aid is a national company surely they must have policies in place and employee training on how to handle accidents and injuries sustained by customers. If that’s it, I am not impressed and it does not say much for Rite-Aid.

As it turned out I did not break my right ankle (which actually would have been better in the long run) but literally shredded the ligaments around the ankle bones. Eventually it required 4 month of physical therapy to get some range of motion back, and being in my sixties I still have residual effects of the injury. It has altered many aspects of my life, I am no longer able to run, which was a big part of my life, I still walk every day but cannot go the distance because my right ankle becomes painfully inflamed. It has certainly has altered the way I approach yoga, certain poses have become too painful and I am either not able to do them at all or have to compensate. Even everyday d­­riving has become increasingly difficult and painful.

Now comes the good part: Rite-Aid told my attorney (he was an extremely bad choice) they would settle for $4,500.00 (that is four thousand five hundred dollars), which does not even cover my medical expenses even without the attorney’s cut taken out.

Due to my husband’s long term illness and death, I had lost my home, car……….everything.  I was living in a homeless shelter, going back to school to finish my degree and I had just interviewed for a position as a live-in assistant that could be worked around my classes. Because of this injury I had to withdraw from this position and had to modify my class schedule to accommodate physical therapy sessions.  I am about two semesters behind with classes, still stuck in the homeless shelter and Rite-Aid does not even want to pay my medical bills.

On Rite-Aid’s website their mission statement sounds wonderful, obviously no one employed by Rite-Aid, including their executives, has read it.

Rite-Aid however was very quick to install additional lighting outside the store and in the parking area. They have painted the curbs along the walkway and installed railings. It only took them a couple of weeks to make those changes......