this is how it starts (jumping off)

My car, once jumped, refused to turn over again. Fortunately we have the resources to have it towed to a mechanic and spin the car repair wheel. But the car will be out of commission for a while and taking public transportation would delay me from work an hour or more by the time I take M to one part of town and head back across. Fortunately again my brother has stashed his car at our house for a month and even left the keys on the counter.

This small event would cripple some families. Some families would have slept inside their car or waited hours till a stranger took pity on them. Some families would have driven that broken car home and when they discovered it dead in the morning would have had no money for a tow and no money to fix it anyways.

Some families would have been unable to make it to work on time the next day and would have lost their job. Maybe not the first day but probably on the second. And then they wouldn't get paid at the end of the week and their rent is due. They'd get a notice to evict a week later and by then they are terrified. The car is still broken and food is running low in the fridge. The baby gets sick and they have to take her to the doctor in the middle of the night and the cab fare takes the rest of their money.

Frantic, they call her mom who lives across the country on a fixed income and while she wants to help she has little to spare. She is worried but helpless. They call a guy they know but they've got no room since his brother in law moved in last week. A few weeks into this the landlord is really on their ass - pay up or move out. The baby is still sick. Dad is in trouble too - he's had cancer for the past year and can't work and can't do too much at home. Her job paid the medical and now that she's lost it he's having to figure out how to get chemo at the county hospital and how to get there on the bus.

They don't know their rights well enough to know that they can stay in their apartment longer even if it means an eviction in the end. That their landlord can't really force them to move, that there are legal procedures to follow. They don't know this and don't want to cause trouble anyways and so they cram a bunch of their stuff in their broken car and leave it in the lot.

They stay at a friend's house for a couple of days till it becomes apparent that they've worn out their welcome. Her friend's sister tells her about a shelter, the one downtown. They take a bus to the shelter and terrified, they walk inside. They are met warmly or brusquely depending on the hour but either way there is either room or not. Today is a good day and there is space for them on the floor.

For the first time in their lives they are homeless. As they try and fall asleep with the baby between them they look at each other, terrified and confused. Thirty days ago they had a running car and a job and a healthy baby and a cancer fighting dad. Tonight they have nothing and are sleeping in a shelter. Dad's pain meds are almost out and the baby is still coughing.

Once you open the door all hell can break loose. I've seen hundreds of families go from 0 to 60 into homelessness and it all started somewhere. A car that won't start, an illness you can't shake. I am filled with gratitude because we've got resources to spare and this gets to be an inconvenience at most but for some it's tragedy and all that is different about we and them is a little bit of money in the bank.

Not quite done yet - Part Three up soon.