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chair jockey

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chair jockey

I am now staying in a homeless shelter in a small city of about 150,000 people about 130 miles from Toronto. It's very pleasant here and I plan to get my life off the ground over the next few weeks. I'll be in touch.

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MickeyK. That sounds a bit drastic, but I suppose needs do as needs must. I hope that things resolve themselves for the best.

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UncommonNonsense

Be okay, 'k?

I posted the flier for you, and I really hope you get some responses.

Stay safe.

Check in with us every so often, if you can. That's one awesome thing about AVEN... we're always here and always available.

S.

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chair jockey

I managed to get a local library card and can use the library computer. The shelter closes at 8:30 am and reopens around 6 or 6:30 pm, but luckily the library is open every day except Sunday.

Right now I have no money at all. Not a penny. I'm walking everywhere and picking partlysmoked butts off the ground. But I made a payment on my credit card that should clear by Tuesday and then I can start looking into getting work.

Thanks to everyone for your supportive comments. BTW, UC, I'm in Brantford.

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UncommonNonsense

Thanks for letting me know. I don't know much about what's available as to services in Brantford, but I'm sure there will be someone you can ask. I am not sure if you have to ask to be given a social worker who can help you navigate through the various options and programs or whether you're assigned a worker just by asking for accommodation in a long term shelter (not night by night shelters).

Be safe out there. I've heard that some shelters can be pretty rough.

Stay strong,

S.

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Good luck! I hope you'll find a job soon and things will get better. :o

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chair jockey

I honestly believed that I was evicted because, when I phoned my father and brother on Friday morning, they didn't answer. This morning a Brantford police officer approached me and informed me that I had been reported missing. After verifying that I was okay he left me alone, but I was ethically obligated to tell the shelter staff. They asked me to verify with my father and brother that I was evicted and let me use their phone to call long-distance. My brother answered and informed me that I was welcome back and even offered to drive out to Brantford to pick me up. When I told the shelter staff this they said I could stay if I so chose but they're on a shoestring budget and I'm tying up a bed that could be made available to someone who really has no place to go. Long story short, my brother drove me back and I'm back in the apartment now.

I have no money available but shall have some credit as of tomorrow morning. On Friday afternoon I had asked the Brantford disability office to have my file transferred there and that has already happened. If I now ask them to transfer the file back they'll be pissed off at me for making them do all that work and will find some pretext to cut me off, so I'm not going to bother. I now _have_ to find a job here in Toronto and have already begun online registration with Labour Ready. Once I've established myself in the workforce I can perhaps look for my own place to live.

I haven't taken any medication whatsoever since Wednesday evening and have had no psych issues whatsoever, as verified by shelter staff (although they're not doctors). In fact my brain fogs totally stopped about 24 hours after I last took psych meds and have never returned.

Yesterday I had no access to water for seven hours. The shelter is closed from 8:30 am to 6 pm, but there was a barbecue at 3:30 pm at which water was available. In the meantime all the water fountains in Brantford are permanently shut off, the library is closed on Sundays, and local eateries have implemented a new policy of charging 25 cents for tapwater. I was not aware of this policy change and therefore didn't take any water with me when the shelter closed. For a couple of hours I wandered around looking in garbage bins looking for bottles that still contained water or soft drinks, then gave up and sat outside the barbecue venue for about five hours with no water or cigarettes. I was already accustomed to having no food from 8:30 am to 6 pm and that didn't bother me so much.

My ankles are in terrible shape from walking everywhere for lack of bus fares and few places to sit down comfortably. My back also spasms when I cough hard enough. I really have ittle choice other than to take probably the rest of this week to recover physically so that I _can_ work.

I had made a payment on my credit card on Thursday and the credit will be available tomorrow. I also wanted to sell my laptop for CAD $200 but my brother is flatly sure no one will give me that much for it, and I believe him.

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