Wow, life took an inccredibly odd turn the other day. Let me clue you in as to why I haven't been around lately.....sit back, this is gonna be a long one....
Normally, after leaving class, I'd either go hit happy hour somewhere or just cruise directly home. Last Tuesday, however, I ended up wandering aimlessly through the city for hours. I had a....mental itch, just a weird restless feeling. I let my feet take me where they wished, and I ended up at the bus stop near 5th and Main at around 9 p.m. or so. There was a girl in her pajamas, crying her eyes out. Turns out she had just gotten released from jail, was fairly new to Portland and had no clue how to get home. She needed to take the 33, which happens to be my line, so I told her that I'd make sure that she got off the bus at the proper stop. She filled me in on her story during the ride, and it was fairly fucked up. She's 25, married, 4-year-old son. Her first husband (who is the kid's father) died a few years ago from a heart attack. The new husband is abusive (she had a chunk missing from her cheek that he apparently gouged out with keys).
On Monday, the husband came home shit drunk and tried to attack her. She ended up barricading herself in the bedroom with a knife and called the police. Of course, the police, in typical asshat fashion, failed to accurately assess the situation. They saw her with the knife and immediately arrested her, and did absolutely nothing to the husband. She wasn't formally charged with anything, but her husband filed a restraining order against her while she was in jail. The next night, she was released from jail, and that brings us back to where we were....
So, we get off the bus and I walk her to her house, but she can't get in because of the restraining order. I called the police so that someone could come out and mediate while the girl gathered up some clothes, got her car keys and her son, just some basic essentials. The cops took almost 2 hours to get there, during which time we were stuck on the streetcorner in the cold, she with nothing on but pajamas. Oh, and did I mention that she has lupus, so she suffers from chronic pain and really didn't need to be out in the cold.
The cops finally came, and we gathered up what we could. After our time was up, we tried to ask the police officer where the girl and her kid could sleep for the night, but the fucking cop just left. By this point it was nearly midnight, and there was no way I was going to leave a sick girl and a 4-year-old kid on the street, so I took them home with me.
For the past seven days, I've been battling with the system, trying to get them shelter and resources. Even with all of my non-profit connections in this town, the blockades are tremendous. They've been living with me in the meantime, and I've been comforting them as best I can. But, I think we finally hit paydirt today! We just got back from DHS, and we landed a $1200 housing grant! Between that and her disability payments, she can be completely self-sufficient. She's divorcing the asshole and is entering counseling. She's working hard to pull out of an awful situation, and I'm proud of her for it.
They should have their own apartment in just a few more days. Until then, I'll keep housing them. They've already been here a week, a few more days can't hurt.
I won't be around much until then, don't want to risk the 4-year-old running in while I'm on the site. He already stumbled across a bottle of lube.....
Normally, after leaving class, I'd either go hit happy hour somewhere or just cruise directly home. Last Tuesday, however, I ended up wandering aimlessly through the city for hours. I had a....mental itch, just a weird restless feeling. I let my feet take me where they wished, and I ended up at the bus stop near 5th and Main at around 9 p.m. or so. There was a girl in her pajamas, crying her eyes out. Turns out she had just gotten released from jail, was fairly new to Portland and had no clue how to get home. She needed to take the 33, which happens to be my line, so I told her that I'd make sure that she got off the bus at the proper stop. She filled me in on her story during the ride, and it was fairly fucked up. She's 25, married, 4-year-old son. Her first husband (who is the kid's father) died a few years ago from a heart attack. The new husband is abusive (she had a chunk missing from her cheek that he apparently gouged out with keys).
On Monday, the husband came home shit drunk and tried to attack her. She ended up barricading herself in the bedroom with a knife and called the police. Of course, the police, in typical asshat fashion, failed to accurately assess the situation. They saw her with the knife and immediately arrested her, and did absolutely nothing to the husband. She wasn't formally charged with anything, but her husband filed a restraining order against her while she was in jail. The next night, she was released from jail, and that brings us back to where we were....
So, we get off the bus and I walk her to her house, but she can't get in because of the restraining order. I called the police so that someone could come out and mediate while the girl gathered up some clothes, got her car keys and her son, just some basic essentials. The cops took almost 2 hours to get there, during which time we were stuck on the streetcorner in the cold, she with nothing on but pajamas. Oh, and did I mention that she has lupus, so she suffers from chronic pain and really didn't need to be out in the cold.
The cops finally came, and we gathered up what we could. After our time was up, we tried to ask the police officer where the girl and her kid could sleep for the night, but the fucking cop just left. By this point it was nearly midnight, and there was no way I was going to leave a sick girl and a 4-year-old kid on the street, so I took them home with me.
For the past seven days, I've been battling with the system, trying to get them shelter and resources. Even with all of my non-profit connections in this town, the blockades are tremendous. They've been living with me in the meantime, and I've been comforting them as best I can. But, I think we finally hit paydirt today! We just got back from DHS, and we landed a $1200 housing grant! Between that and her disability payments, she can be completely self-sufficient. She's divorcing the asshole and is entering counseling. She's working hard to pull out of an awful situation, and I'm proud of her for it.
They should have their own apartment in just a few more days. Until then, I'll keep housing them. They've already been here a week, a few more days can't hurt.
I won't be around much until then, don't want to risk the 4-year-old running in while I'm on the site. He already stumbled across a bottle of lube.....
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Take care!