A Twist on Being Homeless

I've read a couple of articles here on AC about being homeless, and thought I would add my families experience.

Being homeless does not necessarily mean you are poor. It can also mean that there is no safe place to live. Some people have severe environmental allergies and this can prevent them from finding a solid structure to live in that does not make them sick all the time. Such is the case in our family.

Our family, like many families, fight constantly to survive in their indoor environment. Indoor environments can be highly toxic to a lot of people, and many people are resulting to living in tents! Our family has fought this battle for the past 6 years, and in May we left all of our belongings behind, and headed out on a 5 week long camping trip across the Country in search of a new home, in a new state that was not so environmentally unfriendly. We had no home at all anymore. We once had a farm a couple years ago, and it was full of all sorts of varieties of toxic mold . These molds made us all very sick and we could no longer live in the farm house. After leaving, we discovered that we had been so toxified by the mold, that we could not longer live anywhere in the Midwest. Even the air outside made us sick! So we left and went West to Colorado. For 5 weeks we had no home, only our tent. We had nothing to speak of, other than some clothes, camp chairs, two folding tables, and two laptops so we could make money on the web.

My husband and I are both disabled, partially due to the toxic mold we lived with for so many years, but also due to many years of hard back breaking work and a couple of accidents that left us both with back injuries. Because of our disabilities we have been forced to make it on very little, and be creative in how we make money. We have found many opportunities working on the web, as well as creating crafts that we sometimes sell, (we give away more than we sell), and although we are still behind on many bills, and have to spend most every waking moment working to support our family, we do it together and help one another to make it through each day.

After 5 weeks of traveling and living in our tent, we finally made it Colorado. We found that out of the states we traveled through, (Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado), Colorado has the cleanest air, friendliest people, and the mountains are just awesome. We rented a house in a small town in South Central Colorado, and wouldn't you know it, just two weeks after we move in, there was a water leak, the handyman never came to take care of it in a timely manner, and mold began to grow! Now we are once again, looking at another move, with no clue where we will go. We do know one thing though, living in a tent was hard at times, mostly because it was a bit inconvenient, but we all felt much healthier while in the tent, than we have felt living in a house in many years. I guess sometimes being homeless can be a good thing.

We have learned a lot over the past 6 years, and I can tell you, homelessness is nothing to turn your nose up at. Anyone can become homeless, for any number of reasons, and usually it is no fault of the homeless person. Next time you want to frown on a homeless person, I suggest you sit back and think about how easy it would be for you to become disabled, and no longer be able to work. How easy it would be to have toxic mold so bad in your home without your knowledge, that your family is literally slowly dying from it, and living in a tent is the only thing that will save your families life. Sometimes you have no control over being one of the homeless people in this world.

So instead of looking down on those less fortunate than you, think about what may have happened to make them that way. The Joy Of Hope Foundation was formed to help some of these people damaged by toxic mold and the foundation can use your help. Just a one dollar donation from everyone who reads this can really add up fast. Visit The Joy Of Hope and see who we are and what we wish to achieve, and if your heart is touched, won't you make a donation, and help the foundation to continue? Even if only a dollar, every penny adds up, and will be a help.