(still in Vinita at my folks' place this week; waiting to hear from a few other leads on shelter/bed)
in the meantime, the suicide crisis up in Canada caught my attention online. to summarize: since Oct. 2015 there have been over 100 suicide attempts and 2 completed suicides in the Attawapiskat community in Ontario Canada!
just one suicide attempt that i personally witnessed at a homeless shelter in Austin TX was enough to get my attention and to keep talking to that individual until the paramedics arrived and took them to the hospital nearby. (the person survived, thank God!)
now multiply that by 100, stretched out over the last 6 months, its INSANE!
i'm monitoring the situation online to hear what the community needs, aside from prayer and encouragement.
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
Saturday, April 16, 2016
"Infinite Love" drawing
'Infinite Love' by Angielina Grass, 4.16.2016
(ink drawing on watercolor paper)
#REDinstead
Tuesday, April 12, 2016
the waiting
this season i'm learning to truly wait on The LORD and what His Timing means compared to my own needs & timetable.
i know that HE is The LORD of everything, including time itself.
needless to say this is stretching my faith in His Provision.
when i've been unemployed for almost 6 yrs, with only one month of a regular job, trusting in HIM completely for everything (shelter, food, meds, transportation, safety, etc.) is an ongoing journey and extremely humbling.
despite all of my anxiety and panic attacks, worry, doubt, tears, crazy circumstances/people that i face, HE IS STILL GOOD TO ME & HE IS STILL ON THE THRONE OF GRACE!
THE LORD is BIGGER than all of my fears, all of my afflictions and all of my enemies.
i know that HE is The LORD of everything, including time itself.
needless to say this is stretching my faith in His Provision.
when i've been unemployed for almost 6 yrs, with only one month of a regular job, trusting in HIM completely for everything (shelter, food, meds, transportation, safety, etc.) is an ongoing journey and extremely humbling.
despite all of my anxiety and panic attacks, worry, doubt, tears, crazy circumstances/people that i face, HE IS STILL GOOD TO ME & HE IS STILL ON THE THRONE OF GRACE!
THE LORD is BIGGER than all of my fears, all of my afflictions and all of my enemies.
Monday, April 11, 2016
transitional in Oklahoma
it's been a few years since i've posted here so to bring things 'up to speed' i'll paraphrase my situation.
over a year ago i came up to Oklahoma via Alice, TX greyhound bus to be with my parents while my dad underwent major heart surgery and his recovery. he's doing great, a year later and Thank God for answered prayers on that situation.
around October 2015 i had to move out since it violated my parents' lease for me to stay here at their apartment. so for about 4 months i stayed with an acquaintance of my mom, Sharon. all the while i've been actively looking for work, housing and going through all of my doctor's appointments to get things lined up for my disability application process.
in December 2015 i finally got a retail job here in Vinita, OK....it lasted one month! first time in over 20 years that i've ever been fired; especially on a technicality--i didn't complete the video job training within the time allotted. the store only had so many work hours for that week for me and i had to be on-the-clock to watch their videos and pass all of their tests to be considered fully trained. (i got hired during the holiday season, so the majority of my time was spent on the register.)
a week later after being fired from work my roommate Sharon sent me an eviction text message. she gave me 2 weeks notice to vacate. i moved out the next day.
spent a week or so with my parents while looking for a place to stay, that's when i was given a phone number to call for a shelter in Miami, OK (30 mi N of Vinita), The Harbor.
stayed there for 2 months until the director of The Harbor got several bad reports about other residents and decided to evict EVERYONE that morning. his last words were that he would take applications for residents that evening at 5:30 pm, we had to pass a drug test and we had to have a job. the test i could pass, but i still had no job after 2 months of applications & interviews there in Miami.
after cooling off for the weekend at my parent's place, i started playing phone tag with the director of The Harbor to see if i could come back as a resident. when i finally got in touch with him he told me the women's dorm was still closed for the time being for plumbing repairs, a bed bug situation, and the decision to open the women's dorm was still to be decided.
so now, i'm looking for another place to stay somewhere in Oklahoma. currently my options are slim, but i may have a lead on a place in Tahlequah.
the neuropathy flare-ups are mild this year, but i did finally get an EMG done on my feet and hands. i do have it in my feet, but so far not in my hands. they did see carpal tunnel in my hands, which has been getting progressively worse this year, even with the arm braces. i got a surgery referral for my hands this week; waiting for that appointment date.
since my homeless journey began 2 years ago, i have gained some of the weight back (at least 30-40 lbs.) but so far i've not gained anymore than that, Thank God.
when you live and eat in homeless shelter, there is an abundance of bread and starches but very little fruits & veggies available. SNAP benefits helped me get the veggies i needed but so far, i've been without those benefits because of not having a job. here in Oklahoma you get 4 months of SNAP but afterwards your benefits are cut off if you don't work at least 20 hrs a week, especially if you're under 65 yrs old.
i've re-applied this year but there's a possibility that i didn't work enough at the last job to qualify for a renewal of SNAP.
i'm hoping this place in Tahlequah will be a better situation to help me while i look for work and continue to apply for disability. its been years since i've been there, so i will have to get to know the town again. this shelter also locks out the residents during the day, from 8:30a-3:00p, like most shelters. there is a small transit system there in Tahlequah that i can use but i have no idea how much it costs; tried to look them up online and there's nothing on the website about the cost or if i can buy a daily/weekly pass. i may have to do a lot of walking either way, Thank God for Google Maps.
over a year ago i came up to Oklahoma via Alice, TX greyhound bus to be with my parents while my dad underwent major heart surgery and his recovery. he's doing great, a year later and Thank God for answered prayers on that situation.
around October 2015 i had to move out since it violated my parents' lease for me to stay here at their apartment. so for about 4 months i stayed with an acquaintance of my mom, Sharon. all the while i've been actively looking for work, housing and going through all of my doctor's appointments to get things lined up for my disability application process.
in December 2015 i finally got a retail job here in Vinita, OK....it lasted one month! first time in over 20 years that i've ever been fired; especially on a technicality--i didn't complete the video job training within the time allotted. the store only had so many work hours for that week for me and i had to be on-the-clock to watch their videos and pass all of their tests to be considered fully trained. (i got hired during the holiday season, so the majority of my time was spent on the register.)
a week later after being fired from work my roommate Sharon sent me an eviction text message. she gave me 2 weeks notice to vacate. i moved out the next day.
spent a week or so with my parents while looking for a place to stay, that's when i was given a phone number to call for a shelter in Miami, OK (30 mi N of Vinita), The Harbor.
stayed there for 2 months until the director of The Harbor got several bad reports about other residents and decided to evict EVERYONE that morning. his last words were that he would take applications for residents that evening at 5:30 pm, we had to pass a drug test and we had to have a job. the test i could pass, but i still had no job after 2 months of applications & interviews there in Miami.
after cooling off for the weekend at my parent's place, i started playing phone tag with the director of The Harbor to see if i could come back as a resident. when i finally got in touch with him he told me the women's dorm was still closed for the time being for plumbing repairs, a bed bug situation, and the decision to open the women's dorm was still to be decided.
so now, i'm looking for another place to stay somewhere in Oklahoma. currently my options are slim, but i may have a lead on a place in Tahlequah.
the neuropathy flare-ups are mild this year, but i did finally get an EMG done on my feet and hands. i do have it in my feet, but so far not in my hands. they did see carpal tunnel in my hands, which has been getting progressively worse this year, even with the arm braces. i got a surgery referral for my hands this week; waiting for that appointment date.
since my homeless journey began 2 years ago, i have gained some of the weight back (at least 30-40 lbs.) but so far i've not gained anymore than that, Thank God.
when you live and eat in homeless shelter, there is an abundance of bread and starches but very little fruits & veggies available. SNAP benefits helped me get the veggies i needed but so far, i've been without those benefits because of not having a job. here in Oklahoma you get 4 months of SNAP but afterwards your benefits are cut off if you don't work at least 20 hrs a week, especially if you're under 65 yrs old.
i've re-applied this year but there's a possibility that i didn't work enough at the last job to qualify for a renewal of SNAP.
i'm hoping this place in Tahlequah will be a better situation to help me while i look for work and continue to apply for disability. its been years since i've been there, so i will have to get to know the town again. this shelter also locks out the residents during the day, from 8:30a-3:00p, like most shelters. there is a small transit system there in Tahlequah that i can use but i have no idea how much it costs; tried to look them up online and there's nothing on the website about the cost or if i can buy a daily/weekly pass. i may have to do a lot of walking either way, Thank God for Google Maps.
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