Greets!
It will not be long until I am 28 years old and right now I am living with my mother. I havn't always lived with my parents, however, as I was about 21-22 years old when I was expelled from the remains of the family home by my father, which was unfortunately a necessary end, given how my mother was forced out quite a few years before.
The housing market at the time was already crashed and burning at that point, and I had no contacts for local landlords that I could sort out an immediate contract with, so I had no choice but to seek emergency shelter. Emergency centers in my area are not specially built youth or hostels, they are merely buildings, usually ontop of businesses or repurposed housing estates, with four rooms built in per floor with a single communal living area for the linked floor.
Unfortunately for me, the showers and bath usually didn't work, along with the heating system for my room being permenantly disabled by cut electronic cables. This meant that in order to keep myself warm, I had to be wrapped in my blanket at most times when in my room and to wash myself, I used a handbasin that is installed in every room. Literally showering yourself using a handbasin is rather difficult work, I admit.
When I say room, I also mean room, nothing else in the building was mine, I had only one room and anything I would put into the communal living area was likely to be stolen, which I learned the hard way.
To pay for rent and living expenses, I had to work in a call center, as that was the only available work at the time. I worked for the center for about eight months, of which I was awarded prizes for attendance. Unfortunately, the reason I had left was because they started signing contracts on my behalf, which I was having none of. Thankfully, because I kept my mouth shut, I was paid the clocked hours I was owed, to the tune of around £600 which they had declined to pay me for a majority of my time with them.
Thankfully, by the end of my tenure at the call center, my mother had begun working in a local university, of which she had worked up a good reputation with. They had a job that needed doing, which my mother couldn't do at the time, she put my name forward for their temporary register and within several weeks of my last job, I secured a month's contract with the University.
In the university, I worked with privilaged individuals in research for art, design and the built environment. While my workload was considerably higher and of different type than I was expecting, I was able to handle it to such degree that I was doing what could only be described as 'administrative' work for the faculty research. At this point I was simply tired, however, in fact I was so tired that I couldn't think at all about my ambitions, I could only think about getting the job done.
I worked up some nice savings during my time there, but I suffered a catastrophic breakdown after 9 months of working at the university, forcing me to withdraw from the contract. Without any income whatsoever, my savings dried up after six months, leaving me with nothing but this room in the emergency shelter, and even that was going to go. I was simply too tired at this point to care, I wasn't emotional, I was just tired. It was then that my doctor diagnosed me with a serious psychological anxiety based issue, then benefits suddenly started flowing in out of nowhere.
Similarly, I found a contact by this time in the landlord arena and secured myself a three story house to share with others, which would eventually culminate into the the home I currently share with my mother, things appear to be very settled, although I do parlay with the benefits office every now and again. Oddly enough, my life is a hell of alot better now in sickness, than I was in health. I cannot let myself get too comfortable though, stagnating is something I abhor and I would like to earn my keep, so is such as I am now trying to rebuild my capacity to handle the responsabilities of work again.
That is about it, really. I hope my story can give some insight into those who had no choice.
