As I have been saying/alluding to in the last few posts, this Christmas/New Years' holiday season is a little different from some of the ones I have had - because this time I am homeless and staying in a shelter.
I know that my situation could change in a matter of days - even hours. I do my best to stay confident, positive and hopeful.
However, I do wonder why the major Fortune 500 companies stubbornly refuse massive hiring, citing "uncertainty" as a lame and pathetic excuse. This Great Recession would be over by springtime if every one of the Fortune 500 committed to hirting 2500 new employees nationwide, every month, for six months. The ripple effect throughout the larger economy would be massive. By my quick estimation, that would mean in the neighborhood of 2-3 million jobs per month in this country.
Recession over. Poverty and homelessness drastically reduced.
How I spent my Christmas in Arizona
Christmas Day: 68 degrees and partly cloudy. Some people were in shirtsleeves, but the morning was very chilly. I began by taking part in a massive free breakfast given by some church group underneath the 7th Avenue overpass (near the old Phoenix Amtrak station). Dozens of volunteers served bacon, scrambled eggs, pancakes, hot cocoa and orange juice. Clothing and various hygiene items were given. I was surprised to see a lot of school-aged kids among those volunteering to serve food. I was given a thick and warm black Southpole hoodie.
After taking another mini-tour around town on the bus, I took part in the annual Salvation Army Christmas dinner at the Phoenix Convention Center. There were literally hundreds of people, mainly families with young children. The meal consisted of turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, a roll and some pumpkin pie. Not as good as the HEB Thanksgiving meal at Fair Park in Dallas (they need to franchise their concept nationally) but it was OK.
Last week I caught a nasty cough, runny nose and fever. On Friday I went to Healthcare for the Homeless, the free medical clinic at the Human Services Campus, where the nurse promptly became concerned about my blood pressure, which I found out was somehwere in the neighborhood of 170/120, which puts me at high risk for having a stroke. So in addition to something for my cold, the doctor immediately prescribed me Metroprolol, a beta blocker which I have to take twice a day (it comes in small pink pills). The stuff is supposed to slow down my heart rate. This morning I went back to the clinic where the lab technician drew blood samples to check my cholesterol level and other things, I have to go back next week to get my heart rate and BP checked again to see if the medication is having an effect.
I really, really don't like going to get medical treatment, but I had to do something about my coughing, which was keeping me and everyone else up Thursday night. I knew my BP was on the high side, but put off actually doing something about it for a long time. At least I'm glad I'm getting some kind of treatment for it, because I would like to stick around here as long as I can. Even if I have to be homeless.
As I was waiting in the line in St. Vincent's dining hall after the blood samples were taken, I happened to see a pigeon pecking away at a burrito someone had thrown on the ground. The pigeon was just pecking and eating little bits of this burrito, which of course wasabout the same size as the pigeon itself. The pigeon didn't care. It was trying to do the best it could to survive.
A lot of people, the homeless people of Phoenix, are doing the best they can to survive. Many of them specifically came here from cold-weather areas like Colorado and the Pacific Northwest because Arizona, even with chilly mornings, is warmer. Some of the homeless people here are drug dealers, and I have little respect for them. Others are people stuck in lifelong cycles of poverty, lack of education, lack of suitable employment. Others are people who were part of the middle class who "lost everything" for one reason or another and are trying to bounce back.
If the tax rate in this country relative to GDP was the same here as in the Scandinavian countries, famous for their social programs, very few Americans would have to be homeless, unemployed or hungry.
Monday, December 31, 2012
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Just a quick word or two
I'll post another, more complete update in the next couple of days. I'm doing about as well as can be expected. Phoenix has gotten very cold this past week with overnight lows dipping into the 30s. I developed a nasty cough a couple of days ago (not very difficult when you're trying to sleep in a room with 100 other homeless guys, some who have been sleeping out on the streets) and when I went to the health clinic to get something for it, the nurse notice my blood pressure was quite high, so the doctor put me on blood pressure medication, a beta-blocker. Just waiting for the new year to come, and hopefully a new job soon thereafter.
Stay tuned. I have much more to say, but I have to get to my written notes first.
Stay tuned. I have much more to say, but I have to get to my written notes first.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Another update: Christmas in Arizona
My triumphant return to Phoenix is moving along fine, and things are progressing fairly well.
The Christmas holidays are here and I have been staying focused and staying busy applying for several jobs over the course of the last week and a half, and a couple of opportunities look promising. I'll keep you posted on how that goes.
For the job search I have been utilizing various resources, including St. Joseph the Worker, a job development service on the Human Services Campus, as well as CASS's resource room, which features telephones, PC's, a printer and employment coordinators. By the way, St. Joseph the Worker as well as the other agencies in the Human Services Campus could use your donations this holiday season!
I've been using my food stamps, primarily on the weekends, and hopefully I'll be able to stretch my remaining balance out until my new $200 in benefits comes on my Quest EBT card on the 9th of January.
The mornings here in Phoenix have been getting more chilly, with evening overnight lows dipping down into the 40s, and high temperatures only hitting 70 or so, but this is still Arizona. I was able to go to Andre House on Tuesday and find a nice blue Izod sweater, which I have gladly been wearing since. I have not needed a heavy jacket yet, but a lot of folks wear huge jackets as if they are expecting snow. Many of the homeless here do have to sleep outside, so it is critical that they stay warm.
Things I like to do on the weekends:
- Get up at or around 5am, take a shower and walk down Madison Street in front of the Phoenix Pioneers cemetery, stand and look at the stars. There are few streetlights, so the view of the stars is not drowned out by streetlight glare. Also, the cemetery site has no tall or large buildings on it, so the view to the sky is relatively unobstructed. Traffic around this area is VERY light during this time.
- Go to the Circle K on 16th Ave and Van Buren to get some breakfast items (I am drinking a lot of Vitamin Water lately). I pass by the historic Arizona State Capitol building and museum to get there, and it's always so nice and quiet.
This past Saturday, I walked all the way northbound on Central Avenue from the library, into my old neighborhood near Park Central Mall, and went into my old Safeway at 7th Avenue and Osborn, where I used to do my grocery shopping each weekend when I had my apartment at El Cortez (3130 North 7th Avenue). I tried to use their wifi but it was down. That's something I might do again. It was very nice walking my "old beat".
On Monday, I attended the annual holiday party given by St. Joseph the Worker. Very nice dinner of grilled salmon, chicken, rice, vegetables and a chocolate mousse pie. Presents and raffle prizes were given out; mine was a care package of sorts with various hygiene items, socks, pens, and a couple of notepads. Also: a $10 gift card to McDonalds and a $10 gift card to Jack in the Box. Awesome.
And just this morning I did an online survey for Western Union and they will send me $25 worth of Amazon.com gift certificates!!! Yesss!!!!
I am told that during the holiday season, people are very generous here in Phoenix towards the homeless, so hopefully that means a little extra help as I am getting back on my feet in this, my adopted "hometown".
Some of my long-term plans include getting into the Lincoln Family YMCA residential rooms, $450.00 + $100.00 Refundable Security Deposit/month. There is also a SRO (single-room occupancy) building called Campaige Place I will look into (I stayed in their Las Vegas sister property for a few months back in 2004). Just some things to get me some more positive rental history before looking at a "real" apartment. Or...it might be possible to get back into El Cortez right away once I get my new job. We'll see.
Stay tuned to this space for more updates.
The Christmas holidays are here and I have been staying focused and staying busy applying for several jobs over the course of the last week and a half, and a couple of opportunities look promising. I'll keep you posted on how that goes.
For the job search I have been utilizing various resources, including St. Joseph the Worker, a job development service on the Human Services Campus, as well as CASS's resource room, which features telephones, PC's, a printer and employment coordinators. By the way, St. Joseph the Worker as well as the other agencies in the Human Services Campus could use your donations this holiday season!
I've been using my food stamps, primarily on the weekends, and hopefully I'll be able to stretch my remaining balance out until my new $200 in benefits comes on my Quest EBT card on the 9th of January.
The mornings here in Phoenix have been getting more chilly, with evening overnight lows dipping down into the 40s, and high temperatures only hitting 70 or so, but this is still Arizona. I was able to go to Andre House on Tuesday and find a nice blue Izod sweater, which I have gladly been wearing since. I have not needed a heavy jacket yet, but a lot of folks wear huge jackets as if they are expecting snow. Many of the homeless here do have to sleep outside, so it is critical that they stay warm.
Things I like to do on the weekends:
- Get up at or around 5am, take a shower and walk down Madison Street in front of the Phoenix Pioneers cemetery, stand and look at the stars. There are few streetlights, so the view of the stars is not drowned out by streetlight glare. Also, the cemetery site has no tall or large buildings on it, so the view to the sky is relatively unobstructed. Traffic around this area is VERY light during this time.
- Go to the Circle K on 16th Ave and Van Buren to get some breakfast items (I am drinking a lot of Vitamin Water lately). I pass by the historic Arizona State Capitol building and museum to get there, and it's always so nice and quiet.
This past Saturday, I walked all the way northbound on Central Avenue from the library, into my old neighborhood near Park Central Mall, and went into my old Safeway at 7th Avenue and Osborn, where I used to do my grocery shopping each weekend when I had my apartment at El Cortez (3130 North 7th Avenue). I tried to use their wifi but it was down. That's something I might do again. It was very nice walking my "old beat".
On Monday, I attended the annual holiday party given by St. Joseph the Worker. Very nice dinner of grilled salmon, chicken, rice, vegetables and a chocolate mousse pie. Presents and raffle prizes were given out; mine was a care package of sorts with various hygiene items, socks, pens, and a couple of notepads. Also: a $10 gift card to McDonalds and a $10 gift card to Jack in the Box. Awesome.
And just this morning I did an online survey for Western Union and they will send me $25 worth of Amazon.com gift certificates!!! Yesss!!!!
I am told that during the holiday season, people are very generous here in Phoenix towards the homeless, so hopefully that means a little extra help as I am getting back on my feet in this, my adopted "hometown".
Some of my long-term plans include getting into the Lincoln Family YMCA residential rooms, $450.00 + $100.00 Refundable Security Deposit/month. There is also a SRO (single-room occupancy) building called Campaige Place I will look into (I stayed in their Las Vegas sister property for a few months back in 2004). Just some things to get me some more positive rental history before looking at a "real" apartment. Or...it might be possible to get back into El Cortez right away once I get my new job. We'll see.
Stay tuned to this space for more updates.
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