“I used to ride the bus for the doctor appointments and take my kids places, but I can’t afford that right now, so we walk everywhere we need to go. It takes about an hour or an hour and a half to walk to my OBGYN. We live here and there on the street. It is hard. I am always tired, especially from walking and being pregnant. Sometimes I have to walk to the Emergency Room from the pain of walking and having contractions. I hope to have housing before I have the baby. Housing First is helping but we are at the bottom of the waiting list. I try to keep it all together. Some days I want to break down but I can’t let my kids see me like that and try to figure out what is wrong. There is already enough stress. We have been homeless since April. My job put me on maternity leave and I ran out of money. I am a CNA and a patient fell on me. They told me I could come back after I had the baby. I had been there since last year and was at a nursing home before that. I want to go back.”

“What keeps you hanging on?”

“I will eventually find housing and a place for my kids to go. They are trying to get us to a shelter in Baldwin County today. I try to stay inside and keep cool as much as I can. We come here to shower and eat and after they close we start walking. Sometimes we sleep in the waiting room of hospitals. I always feel unsafe, especially being out there with my kids. My girl keeps me going. She is busy. The next one is going to be a boy.”
****15 Place gave her some of the bus passes that we donated through Gift A Lift Mobile.
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A Ramblin’ Night at The Steeple with Shawn Mullins, The Mulligan Brothers and Eric Erdman on August 27 is The Southern Rambler’s benefit to buy benches for the bus riders in Mobile. Tickets and info:
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2562260