The truth is that I’ve been struggling in the Orlando housing market for years, since just before the pandemic. I’m not unusual. I’m surrounded by veterans who haven’t been able to find a permanent fix for this nightmare.
But I was fortunate enough to have good people in my life who lifted me up when things got bad. I’m eternally grateful for them.
Then I thought, “What better way to pay it forward to than to fight homelessness myself?”. I would lobby local, state, and federal officials and be an effective force in helping to keep families and fellow veterans off the street.
I failed. And once again landed into homelessness where I am now.
The reality is that no matter how noble your intentions are, if you can’t make a living, you’re going to struggle. That’s exactly what happened to me.
And the people who I was fighting for, the ones who saw my work may have been grateful, but they weren’t able to help me. They’re homeless.
Fighting homelessness contributed to my own downfall.
The truth is that you need someone to financially support you. Every other industry has this. Real estate. Transportation. Tourism. Their advocates are backed by tens of millions of dollars to make their case to the public.
I never had that. The organizations that do advocate for the homeless can’t get aggressive. They can’t speak out against bad policies.
Or else they’ll lose their funding too.
It’s why the housing crisis faces long odds to fully recover. And why veterans will likely be on the streets indefinitely.
You can’t fight. Or else you’ll lose everything too.
Dear Readers: Things are really bad. You can help out below. If you have any questions, please write me at torres.fjr@gmail.com
Next: How being homeless will make you lose faith in religion HERE
1 Comment