What it's like to be homeless during a pandemic
Hi, my name’s Jessica, I’m 26, and like most, I’m suffering a great deal from the consequences of Covid-19. However, what sets me apart is that I’m also homeless.
I’ve been homeless in Glasgow for a few years now. As a young woman on the streets I have felt very vulnerable, and with having mental health issues I find everything very difficult to cope with on a daily basis.
Being homeless is a vicious circle; you can’t get a job or benefits without an address or ID, which both of these I don’t have. So I have to rely on begging and food banks to stay alive, but now even that has been taken away from me.
I don鈥檛 sleep because I鈥檓 scared that one day I might get seriously hurt, killed, or raped.
Food banks across Glasgow are facing temporary shortages and closures, and the ones still open are too far away for me to access. As well as this, the police have been telling me to move off the street as begging is not an essential reason to be out. I told them that it is for me, as I need to eat and put a roof over my head for the night. They still asked me to move on, but they did give me a number to call.
Only it’s a number that I already have- you apply for the emergency accommodation through your casework team, and once it’s processed you get put onto a waiting list. The system is so slow; it just sometimes makes me feel like they don’t care.
The last two weeks I’ve never been so scared for my safety, although the one thing that does lift me is knowing that people are finally starting to be grateful for the basic essentials, essentials that I didn’t have even before the outbreak. I carry a suitcase about all day everyday with all of my belongings, and I sleep in a tent.
I could go up to weeks without having a shower, and that alone is a daily battle. I’ve also lost so much weight, I’ve gone from a size 18 to a size 6 and I haven’t had a period in years due to malnutrition. On a daily basis I get all age ranges of men trying to take advantage of me. I don’t sleep because I’m scared that one day I might get seriously hurt, killed, or raped.
Being a young girl in this day and age, I shouldn’t have to go through this. I did feel that I was just starting to get myself in a better place after years of broken promises, and my case was looking hopeful, but it’s all just been swept away from under me with Covid-19. I’ve been told that all the work to support us, and all the funds, are disappearing, and that it’s going to take years to rebuild. I already suffer from mental health issues, but I feel that my spirits are even lower during these uncertain times. I know that there’s been a lot of talk around how tough it’s been for people losing structure in their days because of the lockdown, and believe it or not, it’s been very difficult for me too.
On a usual week I already lose track of what day it is, but at least I have a routine of going to some of the same places everyday and have weekly appointments to go to. Now it just feels like my whole world has been turned upside down. Everything feels like it’s been frozen in time as I sit there in my tent for hours on end with too much time on my hands to overthink. My friends, the lovely, lovely people I have met around Glasgow and my children are the only things that keep me going, honestly.
As difficult as it’s been, I’m so relieved to tell you that I’m now finally able to move into emergency accommodation. I’ve been on the waiting list for two weeks now, so since the beginning of the lockdown.
And despite everything, I鈥檓 still hopeful that one day I鈥檒l be able to leave homelessness behind and become a homelessness support worker.
I don’t think that I’ve ever struggled as much as I have during these past few weeks, but finally getting shelter gives me hope, even if it’s just temporary relief. And despite everything, I’m still hopeful that one day I’ll be able to leave homelessness behind and become a homelessness support worker.
Having lived through what it’s like to feel so vulnerable desperately makes me want to help others in similar situations. I know that everyone’s saying that it’s so important to be grateful for what you have during these times. And I couldn’t agree more, although if there’s something that I want you to take away from this article, it’s that you keep being grateful for what you have even after life goes back to normal, as some of us don’t have that privilege.
