-To increase the accuracy of the public’s perception of homelessness
The anonymity is to protect the identities of contributors, who have every reason to fear retaliation from the shelters which are supposed to help us, and from the shelters as employers.
July 12, 2019
These are all different people, talking about being guests of the Pine Street Inn women's shelter. The discussion of how the graduating class was treated is about both the male and female shelters. Each shelter has its own director. Homeless shelter dysfunction is systemic; it is not limited to the Pine Street Inn's women's shelter or the Pine Street Inn as an organization.
These are all different people, talking about being guests of the Pine Street Inn women's shelter. The discussion of how the graduating class was treated is about both the male and female shelters. Each shelter has its own director. Homeless shelter dysfunction is systemic; it is not limited to the Pine Street Inn's women's shelter or the Pine Street Inn as an organization.
-My hand is swollen from being hit by the door when I try to
get through in my wheelchair. At least 3
disabled people, 2 with wheelchairs and 1 with a walker, don’t have lockers and
have to carry all their things around with them. Two years ago, I had an AKA (Above Knee
Amputation) on one of my legs. For the
past 6 months, I have tried to get the director of the Pine Street Inn women’s
shelter to make it possible for me to attend physical therapy and acclimate to
the use of a prosthetic leg. I have been
confined to a wheelchair for all of that time because the director won’t allow
me to have the leg in the shelter. I
have been applying for jobs online; all of them reply by saying that they
aren’t wheelchair-accessible. For the
past few weeks, I have had a lesion on the back of one of my legs; it oozes
blood and pus and has to have daily dressing changes. I am sitting on the wound all day. I may have to be admitted to a care facility
for it to heal.
This is a picture of the wound:
-The Red Sox donated 200 tickets to the graduating class of
job training/housing recipients. 8 of
those seats were premium seats. Half of
the 200 tickets, and all the premium seats, were given to Pine Street Inn staff
and not homeless or formerly homeless people.
There were also gift cards given to the graduating class; people in the
class who had to work on the day of graduation weren’t given tickets or gift
cards. I have heard from staff that
there are frequently staff raffles.
-I have no toes. I
have had 4 knee surgeries. I have a
titanium rod and a tibia nail in my left leg.
Suffice it to say, it’s difficult for me to walk. Although the Pine Street Inn doesn’t have
enough lockers for everyone, we are also not allowed to share space in our
lockers with each other. I lost my
locker because I kept someone’s things in it when she was in the hospital. Now I have to carry everything around with me
on my wheelchair.
Copyright Homeless Humans, July 12, 2019
