I moved down here from Newark to live with my girlfriend in LBI. Things didn’t work out, as she was getting evicted and she failed to mention that. Within 12 hours of being there I had to find a place to live. I have no car, I am broke, and I have nowhere to go. I went to social services and was there all day. At the end of the day they told me it was “*code blue” and I need to figure out somewhere to go right away. If you cannot figure out where to go, then you need to call the police. That was last Monday. So has been over a week. I have never been homeless before. I never thought I would reach this point in my life
“The people who are helping me are so wonderful. Paul (Hulse, director of Haven Ministries helping the homeless) is an angel. He’s fantastic, and all of the volunteers are. I had a complete breakdown this past Sunday, and he took me into his office, and just talked with me for over an hour. It meant so much to me. We have had hot meals every night, haircuts…
“It is awful being homeless in the winter. This is the worst. I am actually really nervous about when the code blue is lifted. I have nowhere to go. The stress is incredible. I am not the kind of person used to sleeping in a tent in the woods. But I am going to do everything I can to get out of this situation, and then I am going to come back and be one of the people who helps the homeless. It’s going to happen. I just have to get out of this mess first.”
*POTJS Note: Code Blue is when temperatures drop below freezing and local authorities find temporary shelters for the homeless to keep them safe from the elements. This interview is from a series I am doing from my time at a code blue shelter earlier this week. At Bay Ave Assemblies of God Church.