The weather was sunny with small patches of left over snow that's been melting for days. It was a bittersweet morning because I was finally (after 6 months) leaving the youth homeless shelter. How did I end up in a homeless shelter? Well, that begins on June 17, 2021. I was 16 years old and that day at around 6:00 I slit my wrist and was sent to the fifth floor. I ended up staying there for only a week, but it didn't stop there. Over the course of 2 months I was in and out of the fifth floor units at several different hospital until August 23rd. School had started a week before I had gotten out and I was already so behind when I got back. Not to mention I had absences because my mom was too embarrassed of my attempts to tell the school what actually happened. In September things only got worse, I had decent grades but I was put on diversion because my mom found my vapes. At my first court date I was fine, but since they messed up my name and thought I was my dad I had to go back a week later. My dad is and will always be a jail bird, always getting in trouble for drugs, theft, and trespassing on private properties to cook meth. So when they called my name as "Mr. Handy" and addressed me as my sperm donor William Donald Handy, I wasn't very surprised. The week passed and at my second court date, I lost my head. See, because I'm manic bipolar I have these episodes where I lose my mind and my head spins around like some freaky shit from the exorcist. My mom was pushing me off the edge, I hadn't slept well that night and when I woke up I was ready to throw hands. My mom and I got into a screaming match and after court we went to my therapist. In Kristen's (my therapist) office, we sat in silence. Then my mom told me that she can't handle having me at home anymore. I blew up and said "well send me somewhere else then!" And she did. Next thing I know I'm in my dad's roommate's car driving to a little yellow house just a few blocks from my moms. I picked up what little I had from my moms and she told me she would fill up my pills as needed. So when I ran out of meds one day I walked over and asked for them from my step dad because my mom wasn't home, and he told me "Get off my property, this isn't your home" so I walked back to my dads house. I had an air mattress on the floor at my dads house. All we did was smoke weed and I went out every night to patty's to get blackout drunk. My grades weren't bad but they weren't great either but, my dad told me he was fine with whatever. Life then was great, I had weed, food, a bed, my Xbox, and friends named Bacardi, Hennessy, and Tequila. That's when my dad started doing hard drugs again. He was blowing up in my face and saying hurtful shit while I was home so every night I'd stay out til he went to sleep. Then one night he texted me, "be home in 5 minutes or the doors will be locked" I was a good 30 minutes away but I hustled there and got there in 10 minutes. "Doors are locked" he said. So I started driving back, but then he said "Come get your shit before I put it out in the rain" so I went back and the doors were still locked so I banged on the door "Let me in to grab my shit you dumb fuck" he swung the door open so fast and then the entire time I was grabbing my stuff he was yelling at me, yelling me to "beat feet" and so I did, breaking his goddamn tv in the process. I couch hopped for days and then finally my phone rang.. "get to the HHS office right now" my mom said. So I went. That's how I ended up in the Youth Homeless shelter at 17 on October 29, 2021. When I first arrived I thought "this is bad" but as the days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months I got used to it. I made friends and saw a few people I knew from back home. It made it bearable. But starting brand new in a new school was scary. I made plenty of friends there though. Sean, Bradjay, Jacob, Hanna, Tyler, Red head Hanna, Annabel, Hailey, and Mrs. Muhr. It made it easier to deal with, but that entire time I had no contact with my mom or my dad, I was abandoned by all my old friends and family (with the exception of my Best friend Kassie and her family). That's when I heard of the Job corps in a city not far from the shelter and I dove right into applying. I GOT ACCEPTED!!! I left the youth shelter on March 1st 2022, and now I live here and there's so much drama so sit back and relax, the show is about to begin.
