{"id":88,"date":"2015-05-06T17:04:23","date_gmt":"2015-05-06T17:04:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/smgroup.biz\/rent\/?p=88"},"modified":"2015-05-06T17:08:57","modified_gmt":"2015-05-06T17:08:57","slug":"homelessness-a-personal-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/smgroup.biz\/rent\/?p=88","title":{"rendered":"Homelessness — A Personal Story"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Darius\"<\/a> N<\/strong>early two decades ago, after relocating from the country roads of Mississippi to the city streets of Alexandria, Virginia, my family became homeless. <\/p>\n

Our fall into hard times placed us among the thousands every year who must rely on emergency shelters in the metropolitan Washington area. <\/p>\n

According to housing experts, the number one reason people become homeless is the high demand for low-income, affordable housing and the limited availability of vacancies. In many cities, people have a better chance of shaking President Obama\u2019s hand than being placed on a waiting list for assisted affordable housing. Some waiting lists have been remained closed for at least a decade with thousands of people waiting patiently, and often in vain, for a decent home. <\/p>\n

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, other government agencies and non-profit groups have found creative and practical solutions to address some of the problems. But there are things we can do as well.<\/p>\n

For starters, we can educate ourselves and others about the issue. Many people assume the homeless are self-sustaining, or that they lack motivation to live a better life. Such beliefs are far from true in many cases. <\/p>\n

Hard-working people with minimum wage jobs often find their earnings are not nearly enough to pay for the rising costs of food, transportation and child care, let alone shelter, according to the federal government. <\/p>\n

The more fortunate among us can also support local resources such as the Alexandria Community Shelter<\/a>, a homeless assistance agency that provides a range of services including shelter, food, housing counseling and job skills. Agencies like ACS can have an enormous positive impact on an individual or family. <\/p>\n

Although, I was only six years of age, I had a good sense of the environment. At first, I found it difficult residing with strangers, adjusting to early curfews, and eating shelter prepared foods. I did not have any toys of my own and the toys that were available were for the community. My only true possessions were that of my family. However, as time passed, Mondloch Shelter <\/a>seemed a lot more like home. The shelter celebrated all of the children\u2019s birthdays and held Christmas parties sponsored by the Salvation Army. For the duration of my residency, Mondloch fulfilled my family\u2019s need for a home without disregarding that \u201chome sweet home\u201d feeling. <\/p>\n

Life doesn\u2019t stop when you\u2019re homeless. I was never ashamed to share my experiences with other people for my family\u2019s temporary homelessness, ironically, helped make me the determined person I am today. When dealing with hardships, my mother told me to keep in mind that problems are only temporary. Your \u201cmentality is everything,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Now, whenever I encounter someone who is homeless, I tell him to always keep a positive outlook even if it appears that life is never on his side. Circumstances can change. My family and I are living proof of that. <\/p>\n

Have you done something to help the homeless or have you ever been homeless? Maybe you have suggestions on how to fight this national problem. Share your story or ideas in the comments section below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nearly two decades ago, after relocating from the country roads of Mississippi to the city streets of Alexandria, Virginia, my family became homeless. Our fall into hard times placed us among the thousands every year who must rely on emergency …<\/p>\n

Homelessness — A Personal Story<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-88","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paRs81-1q","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/smgroup.biz\/rent\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/smgroup.biz\/rent\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/smgroup.biz\/rent\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/smgroup.biz\/rent\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/smgroup.biz\/rent\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=88"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"http:\/\/smgroup.biz\/rent\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98,"href":"http:\/\/smgroup.biz\/rent\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88\/revisions\/98"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/smgroup.biz\/rent\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=88"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/smgroup.biz\/rent\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=88"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/smgroup.biz\/rent\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=88"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}