Frozen, Homeless & Full of Gratitude in the USA

On the surface, it may seem hard to believe I have something to be grateful about. I am homeless, living in my car. I’m freezing at night, and often wake up in the morning with ice covering the windows and condensation leaking through them. I’ve been kicked out of parking lots by security guards and once awaken by flashlights pointed at my face. Like many others who are also homeless and living out of their cars, I work full time. My employers don’t know my situation, and I doubt they would have hired me had they known I’m homeless. That’s because of the widespread belief that homeless people are failures and that most of us have mental or drug problems. If you are homeless, people think, it’s because you did something wrong. Homelessness? You did it to yourself.

Well, I didn’t do it to myself. It was done to me. My family did it.

As hard as it is for those in loving families to fathom someone would willingly force a relative to a life on the streets, it happens often. I’ve met many people with similar stories; it’s always traumatic. Humans are social animals and need to belong to a group. Once turned into outcasts, compassion and aid from that group ceases automatically. Though some homeless people remain in touch with those who were part of their former lives, the majority doesn’t.

I have many reasons to be bitter about, but I also have many reasons to be grateful in spite of being homeless and, incredibly enough, I also have reasons to be grateful because of my being homeless.

It’s never pleasant to find out we are living in a fantasy, as I was. The fantasy being that the people of my community – my former community, that is – were kind-hearted individuals who helped each other in times of need. That was shattered as soon as I asked for financial help. I wasn’t expecting anything from my immediate family, the ones who caused me to become homeless, but I thought I could count on some distant relatives. Boy, was I wrong. Nobody helped, and I ended up living in my car.

And freezing.

But then, something amazing happened. Within days of moving away from that sick environment and into a new town, I met wonderful people. They are the ones I’m grateful for. For the first time in ages, I’m being treated like a human being by those who know I’m homeless. These people, all volunteers, made their goal to help the homeless. They donate their time and resources to make our lives more bearable, and by doing so they make a huge difference. I don’t think I could have made it this far if not for them.

About three years ago, they started a program called “>We Said Go Travel as part of the