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DIVORCE AND ABUSE CAUSE HOMELESSNESS IN WOMEN

© Bea Sheftel

[angel_with_ray_of_light] Most people think the homeless are people who don't work and don't want to work. In an interview I did with a formerly homeless woman she told me the opposite was true. Many people at the shelters actually are working but don't earn enough to cover the rent on an apartment. Some are homeless because of relocation, fires, or other disasters. Once on the street they have to save enough money for the security deposit that often includes the first and last months rent. Even on a small apartment that could run in the thousands.

One of the women I interviewed was homeless from 1987 to 1988. She went to the local shelter for help. They were so overcrowded she had to sleep under the trees for awhile. To make matters worse, she was pregnant. Finally the Salvation Army accepted her into temporary lodging. From there she found a cheap hotel room. She did day labor to survive before she had her baby, and even afterwards until she got settled.

Another woman found herself homeless after her marriage broke up. Originally she left and moved in with relatives. That wasn't working out and she found she had no place to go. There were shelters available but if she went there no one would be allowed to know where she was. If she chose that shelter she'd be cut off from her family. She had an infant at the time and with the separation her spouse needed to know where she was. She also was afraid of putting herself and her child in a regular shelter. Her husband's abuse was emotional, not physical. They reconciled after counseling. There was the fear that if she put herself in a woman's shelter with her child the social authorities would take her child and put him in foster care or be put back with his father. After talking with a lawyer she realized she couldn't risk losing her child. A good friend came to her rescue but not everyone has a friend who can help. Some situations, especially where physical abuse is involved, the woman needs to go to a woman's abuse shelter and cut off all ties with family and friends. This woman stayed with her friend for four months while she and her husband worked out their problems. Her friend brought her in like extended family and she had two children of her own. They are still best friends. Her friend made the rules and no one was allowed to visit so she had time to think about her situation.

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