Being homeless a struggle, even with a $100k job offer
I was homeless for about a year and a half. The first 6 months were spent sleeping on the streets, and when possible, in a shelter - but realistically, in the area where I was, most shelters were not really a safe place to be, and the few that were filled up early. The remaining time, I crashed at a drug dealers house and helped sell in return.<p>I didn&#x27;t have much more than the belongings that fit in a mid-sized duffle bag and for a while I mostly survived by cleaning bathrooms at coffee shops before opening hours where the employees didn&#x27;t really want to do that part of their job - and in return I would get some coffee and a bite to eat. Any money I did get, I saved up.<p>Once I had access to the internet again, and at least a warm place to sleep at night that I considered safe, I started making contacts on IRC. Eventually I had enough money to relocate across country via Greyhound, a couch to crash on when I arrived and prospects for a new beginning. I quickly jumped from $25k to $40k to $60k etc and am currently at $160k with a whole new life and an amazing career ahead of me.<p>It&#x27;s possible to get out of the situation if what got you there isn&#x27;t addiction or mental illness - the system does little to help, and without being resourceful it&#x27;s easy to get stuck in that position for a long time. But it can be done. Granted, I never had the ex-con&#x2F;drug dealer status haunting me in background checks, but I have been upfront in interviews before and still got the job. Greatest accomplishment in life? Escaping homelessness.