Why Is It So Hard to Become “Not Homeless”?
The last few months of my life have been a roller coaster. For the first time in my life, I was homeless.
I never thought I would write that. I never thought that I would be homeless. But for three weeks of my life, I was.
Some context for the situation: When I broke up with a long-term partner in April, I moved in with some friends. I wasn’t on the lease. This wasn’t planned. I had no say really in how things with the landlord went down, so when they served us with an eviction notice threatening legal action if we didn’t leave in two weeks, there was nothing I could do. There had also been personal reasons that suggested we should move out separately anyway so we also took it as a sign.
But it left me and my friends in tough situations. I won’t get into where they fell because that is their business to share, but know that they are safe.
For the first time ever I didn’t have a physical place to call home. Of course, I felt overwhelmed. Nervous. Uncomfortable. But I did take a step back to recognize the privileges I still had despite all of this. I have a partner and friends who would undoubtedly help me out. My family is not well off so that was a worry, but once I told my mother she was nothing but supportive. I have a car. It’s not winter. This situation could have been 10x worse and I am lucky enough that it wasn’t because some are just not as lucky.
Rochester has a growing crisis when it comes to homelessness and it has only gotten worse over the last 10 years
According to Endhomelessness.org, the homeless population increased by 33% between 2007 and 2021. When the numbers are broken down, even more, it found the unsheltered population has grown by 340%. In 2020, Rochester had around 815 people who were homeless on any given night.
Fighting to get out of homelessness is an uphill battle and the pandemic only added more obstacles. There are fewer available beds to accommodate social distancing. Going without shelter and food makes it difficult for anyone to focus on more than basic survival. And even if someone is able to get the help they still have to face financial systems that determine whether you deserve housing.
Finding a place was 5x harder because my credit score isn’t the best. Also, the requirement to make 3x the rent amount is just unrealistic. The parent company I work for JUST announced they would raise the minimum wage to at least $15 in 2022. If I followed this logic at my current pay rate, I would need to find something less than $700 a month; according to Rentcafe.com, only 2% of properties fall under that margin. The average price for an apartment in Rochester is $1,144. You would need to make about $3,430 every month, something that just isn’t possible for most individuals.
These systems work against the most vulnerable people, something I was empathetic about before my own experience. However, now there is a stronger foundation for me because so many of us are just one missed paycheck away from being homeless. These are large institutions that dictate the lives of millions every day. It’s disheartening because there is no short-term solution except to just push through and do everything you can to avoid getting to this place, but I am an example of how that’s easier said than done. Below I have linked several organizations in Rochester that could lend a hand.
Be well.
Resources
- https://www.cityofrochester.gov/homelessness/
- https://www.cfcrochester.org/our-services/empowering-the-vulnerable/shelters/
- https://providencehousing.org/programs/
- https://www.benefits.gov/benefit/5889
- https://www.ccsi.org/programs/coordinated-entry-system-for-homeless-services/
About Brianna Milon
Brianna is a local media professional who loves writing, watching Netflix, and playing with her dog, Weenie and her cat, Fancy. She studied Journalism and Broadcasting at SUNY Brockport and was heavily involved in the campus radio station. Brianna also co-hosts a radio show, “Fat, Black, and Femme”, on 100.9 WXIR. You can find out more on Facebook and Blogspot.
