#housing insecurity

[cleverclovers]

Here are resources for if you're like me, living below the poverty line, with or without disabilities

Everyone is allowed to exist, to take up space, to have and eat food, to have housing and warmth and medical care. the USA does NOT make this easy. It should, but it prioritizes companies and the wealthy over it's citizens.

There are resources you can use if you're making less than 30% of the median income in your area in most places. You can find out what it is via google, by looking up your county's social services website. Not social security, social services.

If you're relying exclusively on SSA programs like Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI), you ARE below that income level.

If you have a disability that keeps you from working, like severe anxiety, depression, a severe mental impairment or a light sensitive/stress sensitive medical condition like a seizure disorder or a heart issue, or most kinds of movement issues that bar you from meeting requirements like being able to lift over 50 pounds, you can talk to your doctor, get documentation, and apply for that assistance. There is no shame in applying. Just remember you should think about what you can do on your *worst* days, not on a good day. Exclusively think about your worst days when you're asking your doctor or applying for assistance, because those worst days are what are keeping you from working, or losing employment opportunities.

You can apply for SSA online, but be prepared for an in person interview, and assessment by a doctor of their choosing. If you're denied, get a lawyer. They can help you appeal and they get paid only when you get approved, so they're highly motivated to get you approved.

Things that are available to you if you're under that median income, regardless of whether you're on an SSA:

Department of (vocational) Rehabilitation-- It might go by another name in your state, but they can help you get testing for neuro divergent conditions like ADHD or Autism, address physical limitations, and help you find education, therapies to allow you to work around your issues, and help you find employment that meets your needs. This is available to you if you've been out of the workforce for a long time, as well, for whatever reason. Whether you were a home maker, or you were serving time.

Ticket to Work--A program available through social security. You can apply for this if you've been on social security for a while, and you feel like you're ready to reenter the work force. You will be given a list of companies that work with social security, and you're likely to work fewer hours or under the minimum wage. Your social security may be lowered based on your income with the program, so that's something to keep in mind.

Unemployment (through your social services branch), available if you've lost your job via firing, generally not if you've quit, to my knowledge. You have to prove you're actively seeking employment, and check in a few times a week or a few times a month based on your situation and location. Be prepared with printed out proof of your applications being turned in. Put it in a binder with plastic sleeves, use dividers to mark batch dates. The more professional you make it look the better.

Disability leave income-- This is dependent on your employer, in a lot of places, but it could be available to you. You can, and should, seek medical assistance if you're injured on or off the job to the point where it's severely impairing your work. If it's to a point where you're unable to work with accommodations, but it's recoverable, apply for disability. If it's not recoverable, apply for social security

Section 8 housing-- Available through HUD (Housing and urban development), usually a lottery or a waitlist. You have to make sure you pay attention to when applications open, and have proof of income available. Have your proof of income ready, wherever your income comes from.

Low income housing--Available in a case by case basis, first come first serve, and they generally prioritize disabled people, elderly, and families, especially families with young children or single incomes. The HUD.gov website has an interactive map that will show you it's locations, and the locations of housing that is taxpayer funded, or other forms of low income assisted programs. You apply for these on an individual building basis, and waitlists can be months to years long depending on your chosen location's population density (In san francisco, for instance, a waitlist for a low income place can be eight or more years long) You'll also need to have proof of income ready.

Charities for low income people are available to help you with deposits and first months rent, or rent for a month when you're in a pinch (One month per each 12 month period) in most urban locations. 211 can help you find these resources

Medicaid--Apply through your social services office, or social security if you're receiving it. Social services will require yearly renewal, social security will keep it up to date for you.

SNAP benefits-- You apply through social services, and you need to have all your documents ready. Proof of income, your rent information, formal or informal (either through a formal landlord or an agreement between you and your roommate or parents) as well as proof of bills and residency. If you have social security this is now available to you in most places. Use it

Cash aid--Not available to people who have social security, but it IS available to people on unemployment, disability leave, or who are generally under employed. You apply for this through social services when you're applying for SNAP.

Reduced public transit fare, or gas cards--Available in limited locations, usually urban. You should look up whether it's available in your area, and whether you have to apply through your medical insurance provider, through the transit authority office, or through your social services case worker. It's different everywhere. If you struggle with transportation, it's vital you apply.

Utility assistance--Either through the provider, or through your city. You should be prepared to offer your proof of income, whether it's social security, or SNAP, or sometimes even proof of public medical, as well as proof of residency (your lease and or official government mail, like the DMV, or financial mail like a bank statement or a utility bill)

Phone or internet assistance--Via the Federal Communications Act. Applications are only available until February 7, 2024, but your internet provider may put the cut off for turning in proof of acceptance as today (February 6, 2024), and this program will likely only be available until April. You can receive either internet assistance (up to 30 dollars), or a free cell phone with data up to one gig. You cannot get both.

Food banks. So many food banks. You have to google where they are in your area, and they may not have a lot of the things you would normally eat. A lot of it is the food people think is 'ugly' or is bordering on stale or about to hit it's expiration date, but food is food, and food close to it's expiration date can still be eaten up to two weeks after the date in a lot of cases. It's best to look up what can be eaten past it's expiration, but it's possible in a lot of situations. You just have to get really creative with what they give you. You can use these once a month, and be prepared to be honest about how many people you're feeding. If there are multiple unrelated adults in a household, you have to go separately. (I don't personally use them because I have allergies and cross contamination can be a real problem with this option. They may not have kosher or halal food, especially if it's through a christian church, and they're not likely to have meat) Some food banks will deliver if you have mobility or transportation issues.

Pet food banks--The ASPCA has these listed on their website. You can use them once monthly for pet food, clean up supplies, or pet toys. It's based on what they have available, it's not always going to be a lot, and they recommend you try other sources first, or have a back up plan. But if you need to cover a gap, it's an option. Some places have delivery as an option.

If there's a program I don't have listed, it's likely I don't know about it, and I encourage you to add it to the list. Enlighten me. Maybe there's something you know about that I don't, and it's something I can use.

Disclaimer: I don't know anything about programs or resources for unhoused people. I have been unhoused, but in that period I did not know to look for resources, and that was more than twelve years ago, now.

[chronicallycouchbound]

Wet shelters save lives. If someone is forced to freeze to death in their car because they’re not allowed in the local dry shelter because they’re under the influence, you are enabling their death.

[thetourguidebarbie]

Terrified to post about my job on here bc tumblr's complete lack of critical thinking skills will declare me as Problematic™️ for defending parents from CPS aka "joining the war on pedophiles on the side of pedophiles" HOWEVER I am going to say some things that are Controversial Yet Brave

Everyone is deserving of legal representation

It is my job to fight for my clients no matter how offensive their views or how much they suck

This is a GOOD THING because it means that YOU will get zealous representation even if your PD hates you

No matter how hard I try I will never get a child returned home to their pedophile father i'm not a fucking wizard

Do you know how hard it is to get a registered sex offender into housing that will let HIS children live with him but not any other children he's not allowed to be around????

This is, by the way, BAD.

Housing should be a human right

All humans

Yes, including people you personally believe are Bad

Perhaps this structure you have created in your head founded on the sheer hubris of you believing you personally are the true arbiter of moral purity and who deserves to be in society is what has contributed to mass incarceration in the first place?????

Fighting for the rights of the most unsympathetic people is how we guarantee rights for everyone

[oceanictarot]

I hate to get to this point but I'm running out of options and time.

I am a disabled chronically ill trans man. After graduating college I moved to a new town and I had a job for about 2 weeks before it had to close down permanently and I've been unemployed ever since it's been about 4 months. I also don't qualify for unemployment which means I have been just slowly draining what little I have in my bank account every once in awhile getting small amounts of money here and there but not nearly enough to pay my rent utilities or get the things I need for my health.

One of my biggest fears is getting separated from my cat and I know that sounds silly but we are very bonded and need each other. She has taking care of me since my health started to decline. A lot of the time she doesn't even let me be in a different room than her and most of the pictures I have with her she's on top of me. I know she would struggle without me and I would struggle so much without her I can't lose her. If I end up being able to pay my rent and lose housing I probably wouldn't be able to take her with me

I am trying to get my small business up and running and get more clients I am trying to apply for disability and I am trying desperately to find a job. Even if I get support I'm not going to stop trying to do those things I just need help to give me more time.

Another way to support me is to support my tarot reading business the information for that is pinned on my account

Another way is just to press some buttons and boost this post as well as my post on my tiktok which you can also find linked In the pinned post on my page

Thank you for your time

[gottawhump]

Enough

Moth

CWTW: BBU/WRU, with all attendant warnings. Financial stress, food insecurity, housing insecurity. Caretaker is stressed by capitalist hellsxape. (Emotional whump?) implied sex work.

There’s never enough.

Not enough time. Not enough energy. Not enough money. Not enough food. Not enough room.

Moth doesn’t know how their landlord’s managed to overlook the extra three people and two cats this long, but they’re grateful for that. Maybe it’s because, except for Bagel, they don’t make much noise.

She keeps the apartment spotless. Somehow she turns the ingredients in their pantry into delicious food, stretching it into enough for everyone.

It’s amazing. It’s unnerving. She never used to cook, or clean beyond a minimum. And Moth worries that one day she’ll just…disappear. Again.

Moth is pretty sure she only stays because Jonas wants to.

And maybe it would be better for everyone if they sent them on to an actual safehouse, with an experienced manager and real resources. Not that it’s easy to place a Romantic and a Guard Dog, who don’t want to be separated, but it’s possible.

Working eight or more hours a day, there’s not enough time. Moth is physically and emotionally exhausted after work. It’s alarmingly easy to just let them do what they’re used to, what they’re trained to do, instead of encouraging independence and individuality.

Moth doesn’t want to be their new master.

“I don’t know how much longer I can keep doing this,” they confide to Mercy, late at night. “Something’s going to break.”

They can almost feel the lives of the people, of their friends, falling through their hands.

“You’ll manage. We’ll manage.”

“Thank you for that. I just don’t know how. I keep coming up a couple hundred dollars short every paycheck.” At some point the landlord will take notice. Eviction might be the best option. People arrested for harboring runaway Pets tend to disappear in the legal system.

“You’re not making it any easer by stressing yourself out, Moth. Stay here, I’ll make you some chamomile tea.”

After she leaves, they hear the low murmur of voices through the thin walls. Mercy. Jonas. Her. The words blurred and broken into indistinguishable sounds by the opening and closing of cupboards, water running, the kettle starting to boil.

How am I going to take care of all of them?

Mercy rubs their shoulders while they drink the tea she brings. Always the medic.

Falling asleep, they hear the door open, then close.

They wake up alone, smelling fresh coffee. There’s a small stack of $100 bills, next to their phone.

The first feeling is relief. Oh thank God I can pay the bills and feed everyone this month.

It doesn’t last all the way to the coffee. Mercy smiles, but Jonas and 932 don’t meet their eyes.

Don’t shame them for doing what they were trained to do. Moth isn’t awake enough for this conversation. After work, they decide. “Thank you for helping.”

Forgive and Forget taglist: @whumpsday @painful-pooch @whumpinggrounds @justplainwhump @bluetheautisticrat @i-eat-worlds @whump-for-all-and-all-for-whump

[lucysweatslove]

We may have to move because finances, and I’m very anxious.

When we moved in to this place, rent was 1800 or 1850/month (honestly can’t remember). This was mid-2020. We have lived here for 3 years, and rent has slowly increased, I want to say it was 1950 our second year and 2100 this year. My husband pays the rent in full so I really don’t remember.

We will be here for 4 more years for my med school, so we were talking about do we try to buy, do we rent, etc. Initially we got excited about buying, but lo and behold we cannot find any place even 30 min+ outside of town that is actually doable… nothing that could work is under $400k (what we can currently afford a full 20% down payment on), and even condos are in the $450-500k range. We could put less down and then have PMI, but estimates for monthly cost are like $3000-3500/month depending on closing costs, APR, etc. Which we feel like we can’t do financially. So back to renting.

We don’t know how much they will ask us for rent… so we were looking around. The townhouse next to us was just rented for $3000.

That is a 40% increase from our current rent.

And given that we would be renting and not putting equity in a home, Rob is adamant that if they are asking 3k, we WILL find a cheaper place.

If the idea of moving my family 2 weeks before school starts didnt terrify me enough, I don’t even know where we can afford to live anymore. I found one place that is just over half this size but still has 3 bedrooms (so we can each have our space- rob works from home and I have school…) that is approx what we pay now, but it’s in an apartment complex proper with no garages, and my car doesn’t reliably start in the winter if it’s parked outside overnight. 🙃 The next cheapest is $2750/month, but it already has 4 applications in which means it’s gonna be gone before we know if we need to move. It’s also further away from campus but I could still make it work.

The issues:

The university here is admitting more students than they can house. There was some mad dash for who could live in dorms and apparently everything was gone within like 5 min. TONS of college kids and grad students need housing now so there is a huge demand for rentals thus driving prices up. FWIW, the people who are renting the place beside us are college kids.

People. Keep. Moving. Here. First it was people trying to get away from ridiculous housing prices in CA, and now it’s from the east coast. I can’t blame them for moving to find affordable housing. But what they are doing is driving demand up and prices up- people will make a first offer in a house at 10-20% higher than asking IN CASH. Locals cannot afford it. The newcomers “affordable housing” is creating the problem they are trying to get away from in a new area. They are displacing their housing insecurity onto us. Who is to blame? Greedy property management / development companies, probably.

Three weeks ago my anxiety was SO low. I was feeling great overall, sleeping super well. Now I literally cannot sleep because of just the potential of this housing insecurity and I am so angry.

FWIW: median family income is ~63k, and we have state income tax. Mean income is much higher at $85k because of higher outside earners pushing this up. How is a typical local family of 4 supposed to afford 3k housing. How are they getting approved for that? They aren’t. Even 2 beds are going for ~2300. Can a family making 63k even get approved for THAT?

This all makes me so sick.

[luciodeldiablo]

Disabled & Homeless, PTSD Survivor

I'm officially homeless. The man I was being a 'house-boy' for let me know this morning that this wasn't going to work out. My sleep disturbances are a nuisance to him. The night sweats, the constant getting up in the middle of the night to change clothes, the sleep talking, the thrashing, it's prevented him from sleeping well since I moved in last Friday. I called CAM (Coordinated Assessment Model), I was on hold for two hours, but I was finally able to talk to someone and they found a vacant bed at St. John Community Center in Detroit's east side. I'll be living there as of today, but I am very limited to what I can bring with me. I will need to rent a storage unit and movers to get my belongings in there. I have called and they're doing three months for 100 squared feet for $161, and the movers are $250. That's $411 that I do not have. I have been unemployed since I lost my job due to my PTSD diagnosis. I used to work for a digital marketing and advertising agency here in Detroit, but have been unable to get back on my feet since. I don't have any family or friends in the area. Please consider donating to my cause, sharing this post to amplify my voice, or subscribing to my OnlyFlans 🍮 These are the only ways that I currently count on to monetize since my disability claim has not been approved yet. I plan on living at the shelter until I am able to rely on disability benefits and get a place of my own.

My LinkTree can be found here, where you will be able to donate and have access to the rest of my channels. Please share and donate 💖

$052/$411

[lesbiansandgayssupporttheminers]

Read an article today about how shitty it is to be an adult renter, which, yes, as someone who’s rented throughout my 20s I can attest to- never properly feeling like a place is your home, being limited in the decoration you can do, honestly sometimes feeling like it’s a bad idea to get a house plant, let alone a pet, not accumulating too much stuff because it’s a pain in the arse to move (and equally cramming inappropriate furniture into places because you know you’ll be moving again and might need it...)

But in the UK increasingly there’s also a lot of families with kids living in privately rented houses- and I just think it must suck growing up never been able to decorate a bedroom, or sometimes even to put up all the posters and things you’d like, never really settling somewhere because you know you could be evicted at any time, maybe not being allowed to accumulate all the random things you like, because you’re moving so much...

Maybe having to switch schools or move away from friends because there’s nowhere suitable/affordable to rent in your town/village anymore...

I just think growing up with that type of insecurity must be a real head fuck for kids, and it’s something we should do more to prevent. Like, no fault evictions are shitty for everyone, but surely, surely, there ought to be a ban on no fault evictions for families with children?

[mzminola]

So there’s a post going around about normalizing sleeping in public, and I don’t know about other public institutions, but the main reasons for any rules at libraries are:

1. Safety,

2. Prioritizing space for library activities.

Not-sleeping falls under both. Use of space: if all our chairs are full of patrons sleeping, they are not full of patrons reading or using our wifi or listening to our audiobooks in a safe space, etc.

Safety: we don’t want you to be dying. Seriously, the reason library staff keeps coming up to make sure you’re awake? Is because we’re worried you’re having a health emergency and we don’t want you to fucking die. We need to know if it’s time to call an ambulance.

You know what’s a great solution to people not having a safe place to sleep?

GIVING THEM HOMES.

GIVE THEM HOUSES. GIVE THEM APARTMENTS. GIVE THEM A ROOM AT A HOTEL THAT’S BEEN CONVERTED INTO PERMANENT SHELTERS WHERE EVERYONE GETS THEIR OWN DOOR THAT LOCKS.

So how about instead of organizing a mass sleep-in, you organize town hall meetings and letter writing campaigns and fundraisers AND GET YOUR MUNICIPALITY OR COUNTY OR STATE TO GIVE HOMES TO THE HOMELESS. TO PROVIDE MORE LOW-INCOME AND NO-INCOME HOUSING. TO LOWER AND REMOVE BARRIERS TO EXISTING HOUSING ASSISTANCE.

Sincerely, a library worker who has personally experienced housing insecurity.

[chronicallycouchbound]

Homelessness as Trauma: Transitioning Into Housing

Having housing after experiencing homelessness for over half of my life wasn’t healing for me (and most others too).

Homelessness is inherently traumatic in and of itself. Just the act of not having housing is traumatic. But before someone becomes homeless ever, we know that certain marginalized communities are more likely to become homeless, and that those marginalized communities are experiencing communal trauma AND the individual person is experiencing trauma. Additionally, whatever led to you becoming homeless was traumatic. And then you’re at significantly increased exposure to other traumas while unhoused (friends dying, police violence, systemic barriers, communal traumas, developing medical conditions, medical discrimination, etc).

Long-term homelessness is exponentially traumatizing.

When I lived in a youth homeless shelter for nearly 4 years, prior to, and after that I had been unhoused or in extremely unstable housing. Watching as other youth would become unhoused and then quickly gain housing, some in under a week, most in under a few months, I felt absolutely dispirited. As time went on, I only acquired more marginalization and thus faced more barriers. I felt like I would never have stable housing. It often still feels this way.

The staff at the shelter where I lived consistently said “We are not a crisis stabilization unit” in response to youth showing signs of trauma and crisis. Almost no concrete supportive services exist for people transitioning out of long-term homelessness. I stopped qualifying for most services after I stopped being legally homeless, even though my housing was even more unstable than the shelter was most of the time.

For a frame of reference, because I was never officially in foster care as a minor (even though I was homeless and on my own documented as a minor, had various legal guardians other than my parents, as well as dozens of child services calls and regular check-ins with caseworkers because of documented physical abuse and neglect all throughout my childhood, but I digress) I don't qualify for the services that foster youth get granted until they're 30, even if they only spent 1 night in foster care. Some of those services include free college, housing vouchers to pay for housing in full, guaranteed Medicaid coverage, additional food stamps, and more. I have several friends who have used these programs and are thriving! I'm glad they exist for people in need-- they should also be expanded to include homeless youth.

So when I moved into my first apartment, on my own, at age 19, I was genuinely more terrified than at any time while I had ever been homeless. I slept with my backpack as a pillow and my jacket as a blanket, despite having pillows and blankets to use. It was like a security blanket for me. I slept with my knife on my waistband like I always did, and I reluctantly put my boots within arm's reach instead of wearing them.

I didn't put anything into cabinets or closets or drawers for a very long time. I just kept living out of my backpack. I was afraid of leaving anything in my apartment-- usually leaving any possessions anywhere meant saying goodbye to them. I was afraid of being alone in my tiny studio apartment so I would have friends over every night.

There was times I wouldn't leave my apartment for days on end, especially when I started owning possessions that I had to leave behind and couldn't carry everything on my back anymore. I can't remember a time I owned enough possessions that I couldn't fit them all into a tote box and backpack. It was an entirely foreign experience.

People kept congratulating me and yet no one gave me any help with getting basic necessities for my apartment. Every pot and pan I own is scratched to shit and found free on the road, akin to all my mismatched dull knives and friend's hand-me-down towels. It was a pat on the back while I was still out there drowning.

People kept congratulating me and still my friends, my family, were on the streets dying. Acting like I should be proud to "overcome" while the system still hurts us all. My friends are still dying. Our whole community is grieving all the time. I feel guilty to just be alive.

That's not even touching the start of processing the trauma I experienced while unhoused. They say you don't start to process shit til you're safer and it hit like a tidal wave.

I had never felt like that before getting off the streets. And I wasn't and am still not in stable housing. I can't even imagine what stable housing would look like, let alone how tryna process that would be like. It is such a raw and vulnerable experience to come fresh out of homelessness and then be thrown into a world you've never known.

So many people think JUST housing is the answer when it simply is not. We need supportive services, we need community support, we need to be cared for and looked after. We need places to go for holidays and people to be our emergency contacts. We need financial help and support that money can't buy. We need real love, we need to be held by our community and uplifted to where we all can thrive.

[teababe27]

Help a Black Nonbinary Person and Their Kids With Rent

Reparations Roundtable is a group I am part of which has been supporting Q, a Black nonbinary parent, and their children since they fled domestic violence 3 years ago. From Spring 2019 until Spring 2022, they lived in a single room at an extended stay hotel. They are finally back in their home town, in a real apartment, and they are beginning to get their bearings after being assaulted, stalked, harassed, threatened, and displaced for 3 years. This loving, resilient family needs a lot of support to recover from the intense trauma they have suffered. They are so happy in their new apartment and making incredible strides as they build their lives back. 

Reparations Roundtable intends to cover their rent for a year to give them time to heal and adjust. We are asking for support for this family on their journey to safety and peace. Please contribute anything you can to the continued well-being of Q and their children. Thank you!

Q and their children still need our ongoing support with rent. Let’s meet our commitment to them! https://www.paypal.com/pools/c/8NkduUC6N8

I can also take Venmo (@amanda-darer) and Cashapp ($teababe27) - write “For Q” in the memo field. Please and thanks!!

[idlebirdsparagon]

Oh boy! I love having a good day be ruined with the thing that triggers me the most 🙃

[intelligentchristianlady]

Lots of links in this article if you want to drill down.

[purpleinkandpeacockfeathers]

Urgent Request For Help

Please donate and/or share to help a severely injured, autistic, multiply disabled single mother (whose child is also autistic and disabled) in dire need. They’re losing their housing and have nowhere to go. Anything helps and no amount of $ is too small.

[Music Credit: Lana Del Ray. All song rights retained by the artist.]

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About Kelly Âû and Her Situation

Kelly (she/her) is a autistic advocate, disability activist, multidisciplinary artist, and musical performer. 

Over the past 2 years Kelly and her child, Little Âû (they/them), have been trying to survive a financial crisis after losing 2/3 of Kelly’s income due to the pandemic and having had multiple, expensive health crises befall them - including 2 long-term hospitalizations for Little Âû and Kelly sustaining several concussions as well as injuries that will likely require surgery. Due to the high cost of these unexpected emergencies, it’s resulted in them not having enough money for basic life necessities and losing their home. Applications for housing assistance are being processed but Kelly and her child are currently without a place to live. They desperately need a safe place to shelter for at least a week in order for Kelly to have time to scrap together enough resources to obtain secure long-term housing.

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Donation Links

Venmo: @KBella-Bee-42 or https://account.venmo.com/u/KBella-Bee-42

CashApp: $KFT42

PayPal: @KBellekeau42 or https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/KBellekeau42

If using Venmo or PayPal, please mark as friends or family/personal and not a seller transaction so there are no fees.

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Follow Kelly on Social Media

Facebook (updates and FB Live performances): 

https://www.facebook.com/kelly.au.37853

TikTok: 

https://www.tiktok.com/@autistic_songbird42

[jelly-1998]

Today I piled everything I need day-to-day into my car to start couch surfing until I can find permanent housing. Is this what it feels like to be a stray animal that people feed and let sleep under shelter?