davis_square | Urgent Request for Shelter

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community issues

Urgent Request for Shelter

((X-posted

b0st0n.))

Bri and AJ were evicted from where they sleep today and have nowhere to go. Here is Bri's post about it on wordpress: http://bribroken.wordpress.com/2011/09/15/evicted/#more-441.

They desperately need a place to stay. They are currently outside of the Davis Square station. They have been sleeping in the area for about 6 weeks and can be seen every day selling jewelry outside of the Holland St. exit. They are lovely people and just really need a place to sleep where they'll be safe from the weather and from being robbed/attacked. Also a place where they can bring their suitcases as they don't have anywhere to leave their bags. Anyone who wants to contact them can email them at xjettx at gmail dot com or comment at the wordpress blog or go visit them. They will most likely be at the Holland St. exit of the Davis Square station until 10:00 or 11:00pm unless they are offered a place to spend the night earlier than that. They have access to a laptop, but the power is running low so they'll be checking email sporadically through the night. The best way to contact them is to go to the train station, but they will be able to read email.

Here again is Bri's post: http://bribroken.wordpress.com/2011/09/15/evicted/#more-441

Thank you. If this is inappropriate, please let me know and I will take the post down or modify it to make it acceptable to the community.

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This is about as local as anything gets in our community. I'm upset that Harvard Vanguard treated them this way.

Thank you. Me too, it's really awful. I wish I could do more.

Are they all set with clothing?

I have things I could drop off if they are in need. I can't seem to access their site with my phone.

Meredith

I'm not sure if they need clothes. Maybe stuff for the rain? I know they need things like tylenol, Lactase enzyme (Lactaid/generic), sleeping bags, and some other stuff that is listed on their website. I can comment with the full list or message it to you. Whichever one you prefer. And thank you.

http://www.homelessshelterdirectory.org/cgi-bin/id/city.cgi?city=Somerville&state=MA

14 Chapel Street was described to me as "queer-friendly" some years ago, and is about two blocks away.

I really, really want to let them sleep in our spare room that is completely empty, except for a bed and a few baby items. I asked my husband and he said that I am completely nuts for wanting to let a couple of strangers stay with us 6 weeks after having a baby. He's probably right, but it still hurts my heart.

I own a store and I am getting the monthly donations ready, so I could probably find some warmer jackets (supposed to be cold this weekend) or some sweaters. I would just need to know sizes. plrgcambridge@gmail.com

Comment with the full list and I can see if I have any of it on hand over here.

Meredith

Thank you. It is incredibly depressing.

They have had very bad experiences staying in shelters (having had things stolen from them, been threatened, etc.) so they are afraid to do so. Also I don't think they'd be allowed to bring all of their stuff and they don't have anywhere to store anything.

They are in contact with SHC (from Bri's post): "We are working with the Somerville Homeless Coalition and also getting in touch with Home Start; it doesn’t seem like SHC can do much to actually help us with our immediate need, but we are cautiously optimistic about Home Start."

Thank you! I will email this to them.

Ditto minus the baby and the husband. I'm childless, but live with my boyfriend. He thinks I'm nuts. It's really horrible, but it's not my apartment so I can't be like, "Well they're staying with us anyway."

It's OK!

Yes it is =(

They are horrible. Basically they are like prisons (you're not allowed to leave once you're there if you want a bed) where you're kicked out for the day. I stayed at one of the best, St. Patrick's women's shelter in Union Square most of the time, but even that one had the staff often treating the women like criminals. And the worst ones (the one over by MIT) have staff who pretty much steal anything of value from the folks staying there.

And you're not guaranteed to stay for more than a set amount of time, (St. Pats was one day at a time, and you had to wait for about a half an hour or more to see if you made it in the lottery. Other places you have to call ahead in the early morning and you might get to stay for a week at a time.) None of the places let couples stay together. And all of them have lots of rules about what you can bring in (for example your own foods) and do there, which make life extra challenging.

Thank you so, so much! This isn't that recent, so I'm sure they will need warmer clothes as well as what is on this list:

Needs
*Lactase enzyme (Lactaid/generic) +[Note at the bottom of this post.] We can always use more lactase; this is one of the most important items on this list at any point, and one of the most difficult for us to acquire because of expense.
*Imodium/loperamide: We both have IBS. AJ alone has been taking about 20-25 2mg pills per day since we have been homeless, because it is simply impossible to be able to guarantee having access to a bathroom for half an hour or more at any given point, especially late at night when most shops are closed. The imodium, obviously, holds bouts of diarrhea at bay (or stomach attacks, as we refer to them).
* Sleeping bags: We are extremely grateful to have recently been given some blankets and pillows, but a more compact mode of staying warm and dry at night would help us have less stuff to carry around.
* Army pack: If we could replace AJ’s backpack with one built for camping & traveling, with attachment points for things like tents and sleeping bags, that could make a huge difference in how easily and well we are able to move around with our stuff.
*Cranberry supplement: This helps us keep chronic infections at bay, such as tooth and sinus infections. It is not possible to get enough of the fruit to have this effect by just eating it or drinking juice.
*Virgin Mobile top-up cards: The phone plan we had in the past is $25+ tax, monthly. We hope to activate a phone on that plan once again, as the very limited number of minutes received from Safelink is not sufficient to be in touch with doctors, social workers, lawyers and others involved in our SSI/SSDI cases and other forms of assistance/support.
*Tylenol/Acetaminophen: When his pain is particularly bad, a bottle off 500 extra strength pills might only last AJ a few weeks. He has chronic sinus infections and body pain, along with a weak stomach… Meaning that acetaminophen is the only painkiller he can stomach on a regular basis.
Hand sanitizer
Baby Wipes: Sometimes these are as close as we get to a shower for days on end.
Paper towels: These are great for making sure important things (like jewelry for sale) are dry when putting them in their zip-lock bags after they’ve gotten wet in the rain.
Zip-lock bags: We can use these in quart, 1-gallon or 2-gallon sizes. They help us to keep our things dry and organized. I can also use smaller sizes for jewelry and supplies.
Portable hand truck: The kind that musicians use for their gear would be excellent for us to stack a few small plastic bins on, containing food, jewelry and supplies, etc. This could replace and be even better for us to travel with than a rolling suitcase.
Large rolling suitcase: We have a small one now that holds my jewelry and supplies. If we could replace it with a bigger one, we might be able to find a way to fit substantially more inside.
Plastic bins: Tight-sealing plastic bins, 8 gallon size or less, would be excellent for storing some of our stuff if we could get a hand truck to move them around with us.
Toiletries: Gel deodorant, travel/sample-sized shampoo/conditioner, body wash, face wash, etc.
Fish oil/Omega supplements: These help boost our overall health, and AJ’s energy levels specifically.
Postage stamps
*MBTA fares: We’d happily accept any Charlie Cards/Tickets with funds on them. It can be hard to guarantee that we have money to put on our cards when we need to travel.
*Camping chairs: The kind of camping chairs that fold up very small but can handle the weight of a large adult would be amazing. Because of our various health issues, constantly sitting on the ground ends up causing a lot of pain and discomfort for both of us.

Also, if you would be willing to allow one or both of us to shower, do laundry and/or use a phone to make some calls regarding assistance at some point, any of those things would be immensely appreciated.

We’d be more than happy to accept gift cards for places like Stop & Shop, Shaw’s, CVS, Walgreens, Petco, Trader Joe’s, Harvest Coop, and Family Dollar to pay for things like trash bags, toilet paper, prescriptions, rat bedding and other needs.

+Lactase/Lactaid: AJ goes through about 60 (9,000 FCC Lactase Unit) pills per week. He is insanely sensitive to lactose, which is often used as a preservative in processed foods; when it is, it’s often unlabeled. Any food item that lists non-specific preservatives may contain hidden lactose. Additionally, fresh vegetables can even contain lactose, absorbed from manure used to fertilize crops. This is a little-known fact, but even that small amount can make AJ very ill. Even with both of us receiving food stamps, $400 a month is not enough to feed two adults a moderately healthy diet unless I am able to purchase and prepare foods that happen to be on sale, which includes a lot of lactose-including foods. We do spend the extra to keep lactose-free milk in the house, as that ends up being more reasonable than AJ’s having to take enzyme pills whenever he has something containing milk. Some BJ’s stores sell boxes of lactase for about $16 for 180 pills. This is the best deal we’ve found, but none of the BJ’s that stock this particular package are generally reasonable to access by T when distance, time and health conditions are taken into consideration.

Before the baby, he probably would have been totally game to extend a hand and help, while getting to meet and get to know two interesting people. I understand why he says it's not ok to invite strangers in anymore, I just don't like it. :(

I think a couple of years ago my boyfriend would have been fine with it, but do to bad experiences semi-recently, definitely not now =(

The list doesn't mention clothing, but the list is not recent. I'm sure they could use warmer clothing/clothing for the rain, etc. Thank you!

Would they just want it dropped off in Davis?

I will check back here and see if there is an update as far as locale goes.

As of right now they are at the train station. They don't currently have anywhere else to drop anything off.

Thank you!

I have a big army backpack I could drop off somewhere.

If we have anything we'd like to donate to these people, where can we find them now?

Hi Meredith,

I asked them about clothing and this is the response I got:

"We do need warm clothes. We have a few sweaters and a thin hoodie each, but that's it. I don't have any warm pants; AJ has a pair of jeans. He's about a 38/L-XL & I'm an XL-2X or about 24-26 in women's clothes. We also would both welcome boots that would actually keep our feet dry; my feet are size 9.5 & wide. I can also usually wear men's 7.5. His feet are usually a size 5 in women's or 6 in boy's, I believe. We also would be very grateful for warm sleeping bags, if anyone happened to have one they didn't need. We have one rain coat and a couple of umbrellas. A raincoat that would fit the sizes I listed for myself would be amazing. We also could always use clean socks & underwear, and I am in somewhat dire need of bras (2x sports bras are perfect)."

I asked them about clothing and this is the response I got:

"We do need warm clothes. We have a few sweaters and a thin hoodie each, but that's it. I don't have any warm pants; AJ has a pair of jeans. He's about a 38/L-XL & I'm an XL-2X or about 24-26 in women's clothes. We also would both welcome boots that would actually keep our feet dry; my feet are size 9.5 & wide. I can also usually wear men's 7.5. His feet are usually a size 5 in women's or 6 in boy's, I believe. We also would be very grateful for warm sleeping bags, if anyone happened to have one they didn't need. We have one rain coat and a couple of umbrellas. A raincoat that would fit the sizes I listed for myself would be amazing. We also could always use clean socks & underwear, and I am in somewhat dire need of bras (2x sports bras are perfect)."

They are currently at the Davis Square station still (Holland St. exit).

I asked them about clothing and this is the response I got:

"We do need warm clothes. We have a few sweaters and a thin hoodie each, but that's it. I don't have any warm pants; AJ has a pair of jeans. He's about a 38/L-XL & I'm an XL-2X or about 24-26 in women's clothes. We also would both welcome boots that would actually keep our feet dry; my feet are size 9.5 & wide. I can also usually wear men's 7.5. His feet are usually a size 5 in women's or 6 in boy's, I believe. We also would be very grateful for warm sleeping bags, if anyone happened to have one they didn't need. We have one rain coat and a couple of umbrellas. A raincoat that would fit the sizes I listed for myself would be amazing. We also could always use clean socks & underwear, and I am in somewhat dire need of bras (2x sports bras are perfect)."

Thank you so much. Everyone has been really wonderful here.

I have one pair of jeans that should fit AJ, and if they need rat bedding and/or rat food, I can spare some!

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Urgent Request for Shelter

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