#homelessness
When the house you rent in Nashville doesn’t come with a washer/dryer, you go to a sketchy laundromat and watch Jerry Springer with everyone else. Sometimes, a homeless guy will come in and ask you to watch movies with you on his phone in his tent.
Nashville, TN
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Rashema Melson during her graduation.
The problem of inner-city schools is well known: inadequate facilities and supplies, absenteeism from students caring for struggling families, violence, drugs, and pregnancy the norm, and poor performance by students and teachers. Success in such an environment is difficult already, but only worsened when a student has a shaky home life, or no home at all.
When Indianapolis teen Syretha Shirley was six months old, her mother left her with her grandmother with an empty promise to ‘return soon.’ When Syretha was 11, her grandmother developed severe Alzheimers and Syretha was left to fend for herself. She has lived in 11 homes in 2 different states and gone to 8 schools. Her next is Indiana State University, where she plans on studying social work. “If I do not graduate and if I give up now, I will have to depend on other people. And that’s the one this I hate the most…because that’s something I’ve had to do my whole life,” she said. “That’s something I was forced to do, asking people, 'Can I stay with you? Can I please,’ please this and that. So going through this made me stronger and made me want to do this for myself.”
Rashema Melson lived in a D.C. shelter with 300 adults and 500 children but managed to graduate as valedictorian and get a full ride to Georgetown University, where she plans on studying forensic pathology. "Life is not fair, but despite that harsh reality, you must keep striving for success through the pain, tears and feeling of lost hope,“ she said in her commencement address at graduation. When asked if she had advice for other homeless youth, she said, "Because you live in a shelter that’s not who you are, that’s just where you reside at for the moment.”
“Never be afraid to go after your dreams, and regardless of the negative forecast that has been predicted upon us, beat the odds and let the sun shine,” Rashema said. "Each step we take is paved with possibilities. Now go unlock the door to your future.“
Some time when I have more energy I’m going to talk about Starkid’s problematic portrayal of homelessness
Here we are again.
I apologize that most of my posts nowadays are me asking for work or money but, things are getting serious I suppose.
In two weeks, rent will be due for July and all of my reserve money is going to pay for rent next Friday when I move in. I had started a job but it had ended very poorly, and now I’m struggling to find another. I’m sorry to ask this again, but I’m going to be raising money for this month of rent.
I need about $1000 to cover all the expenses and have some left over for food. Hopefully by July I’ll have found a job so this will no longer be an issue. But for now, commission streams will have to suffice (last week the one I did had to end early unfortunately). I’m holding a stream on Friday, probably at about 3pm EST as is my usual stream time. I’ll be doing $15 streams like last week.
If anyone would like a commission, I am more than willing to do those as well. I may also throw up some new adoptables. If you’d like to donate, I do have a Ko-Fi. I am very very sorry to be doing this again. If you cannot/do not want to donate I completely understand, but if you can spread this around I would greatly appreciate it.
