I been homeless since my grandparents passed away last year,I’ve struggled to find a job since having no prior experience because I was their care taker. I’m 29(f) I was primary caregiver to my grandparents legally for 7 years.
I had a phone before I became homeless so that’s how I have one,I use public wifi such as taco bell, McDonald’s and the library which I’m at right now,my night are spent in ally ways,behind dumpsters,in woods and abandoned buildings that aren’t too too nasty.
I’ve applied for jobs on indeed,Glassdoor,ect but no calls back,I smell to bad at the moment to go in person and talk to them. It’s been 8 days since my last shower and 4 since I found something edible to eat.
Advice is what I’m here for,so if anyone has been through this or has advice please feel free to reach out. Thank you in advance!
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Talk to a military recruiter if you have a clean criminal and medical/mental record. Diploma/GED You’ll have a home, food and job but only if you’re up for a commitment. It would get you on your feet
Panhandle and find a womens shelter. Save up enough for a chrysler town and country or dodge caravan, 2012 or newer that will pass uber inspections and sleep in it and drive for uber. You can get one off facebook marketplace for like $3,000. Those ones have the all the seats fold flat so you can store bedding where the seats go into and youll get a flat surface to put the bedding on. They also get the UberXL calls. Shower at planet fitness with the black card upgrade. Dont do drugs. Get on food stamps and medicaid if you havent already.
As soon as you can afford to pay for it buy a cheap gym membership, they’ll have showers you can use at the very least. Try signing up for caregiver websites if you have experience taking care of your grandparents, care.com comes to mind but I’m sure there’s others. Plasma donation is pretty accessible and will pay upwards of $100/week.
I’m sorry you’re going through this. I’d also check your states unclaimed property website and see if you have anything there, not everyone does but I found an old insurance payment from when I was a kid that helped me out over the summer.
I assume you’ve already checked state services. I live in a very liberal state that provides a lot of support and assistance for homeless people both temporary and permanent solutions. i’m so sorry you have to live so rough like this especially been displaced after taking care of your grandparents for so long. If you haven’t checked in with state services, you might look into it. Even if you just get food stamps, it would be something.
Are you applying for jobs as a caregiver? There are such a shortage. i’m also a caregiver and I’ve had companies willing to pay more when I would say I’m looking at another company. if you have enough money just to get a shower for a hotel room for an interview that may get you the door. Or ask state services where or if you can shower for free continue working there until you are able to establish a place to live.
You’re young so what you should do is go hang out by a college dorm. Say you forgot your key/your friend isn’t answering and they’ll just let you in. College dorms have super low security like that. Once you’re in you can just take a shower and no one will mind. Anyone who sees you will think you’re someone else’s friend. When I was homeless I’d do it all the time. If you play your cards right you can normally bum around campus for a few weeks before anyone catches on that you aren’t actually a student. The bigger the college the longer you can stay, and most of them have free wifi and unlocked outlets on the outside of the building. You can even pretend to be a student and go talk to a career counselor.
Also for food go check out a dumpster. Most stores clean off the shelves at night and throw it away at the end of night shift. So if you go around 6-7 am there will be fresh stuff in there that’s not gross from the heat of the day yet. It’s actually a pretty good deal because a lot of the stuff they throw away would have been sold at full price if you’d gone to the store am hour before closing, but if you go an hour before opening it’s free in the dumpster.
Where are you located? In the US? If so, what state and county? Have you tried the local shelters. They tend to have caseworkers that can help get you employed and options for housing.
Are you including your caretaker experience on your resume? You weren’t unemployed during that time. Being a caretaker is a job and you should speak on it as such. Have you been applying to nursing homes and care facilities? They always seem to be hiring and are always looking to train new STNAs.