Help Me Escape Homelessness

A Fresh Start in Tampa-Brandon

Hello everyone,

I am reaching out to you today in the hopes of finding some support and assistance. As some of you may know, I have been struggling with homelessness in Tampa-Brandon Florida for quite some time now. Despite my previous attempts on Gofundme, I have not been successful in finding the help I need to get back on my feet.

My story began in January of 2022 when I faced my first eviction due to being unemployed and in poor health. Despite finding resources to help me avoid eviction, my landlords chose not to participate in the state-funded program that would have saved me from this situation. As a result, I found myself living in a tent next to the city waste and management facilities with the rest of the homeless population in Tampa Hope aka Tent City.

I was there to take part in a program that was supposed to assist me and others in recovering our lost lives as normal human beings, and get re-housed among the regular non-denizens or the everyday common man. Unfortunately, depending on the day and the mood, it's not a definite you will ever re-emerge. Through chance and unintended means, I discovered that while habitating in tent city thinking I was enrolled in the program and waiting for my number to be pulled, I was in fact once, quite literally "invisible" as I had been purposely and I am sure for no personal reasons never been added to the list, just counted among the numbers.

After some time, I was able to find work as a student loan advisor customer service representative, but due to my own outstanding student loans, I was not federally cleared for the job. This led to my second eviction and back into homelessness. This time, I have no resources or organizational assistance to speak of, and I am on a waiting list through Catholic Charities and Metropolitan Ministries to receive assistance, but with a time frame for receiving said assistance of at least 1 year.

I am applying for employment and interviewing for jobs while in and out of motel rooms when able, and not always in the best of health as it regards appearance and sanitation. What I am asking for is help trying to establish some sense of stability in housing and sanitation so that I can continue to pursue my attempt to find employment and when I do find it, be able to show up to said job in a state that is hire-able both in appearance and cleanliness.

At the moment, the only assistance I am receiving is snap-benefits. I do not get unemployment or SSI or any other financial assistance. I hope and pray that there are others out there who can empathize or who have experienced the struggle and challenge of being homeless and unemployed, and the toll that it takes on an individual's physical, mental, and spiritual health, and the roadblocks it creates to trying to recover and establish the financial means to become a self-sustaining and self-supporting, productive member of society again.

Please, help me find the means to survive and re-emerge from these last few years of hopelessness and homelessness. Any support, no matter how small, would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to read my story and for your consideration.