So, after I became homeless February, my car eventually wouldn't even start without having to be jump started every time because the battery was just gone. I've been given permission to park in a church parking lot and have been stuck there since November of last year. Even though I'm not Christian, I thought maybe some of that Christian generosity wouldn't be so bad. I was always up front, saying that I'm not really a religious person though I haven't come outright and said I was an atheist. I was given a free bible, access to their wifi, and people are always offering to pray for me. I've been given a few dollars here and there, and people have said they would look for opportunities to help me get into some stable housing, but all I've been offered so far is the opportunity to spend nights in coed homeless shelters that treat everyone like criminals.
So, recently, I've been told that I can't stay in this parking lot forever and of course I know that. I think part of it is because I try to avoid the Sunday services I'm always invited to. I went to them at first, but the only help anyone has provided is the "power of prayer." There were some talks about raising some funds, and some people have told me they've given more than usual at collection so the church could help me, but it hasn't even been offered.
I'm just stuck. Depressed, crying all the time, stuck. The most I can do right now is try to find another parking lot to get my car to. I've been able to get limited assistance because I'm autistic, but that's it. I even got a free state-funded cell phone from SafeLink. I'm willing to give my # to anyone who wants to call and is willing to help to see how real my situation is and that I'm a real person. I only get 250 minutes a month, though.
Anyway, the point of all this is, is I'm looking for help from the atheist community who can empathize with my situation and can help in anyway, even if it is just sharing the fundraiser page I created at: http://gfwd.at/TWiW3B
I am not good at this stuff and I've never raised funds for anything. I've looked at other fundraisers that were successful and I just don't understand what I'm doing wrong. It seems like I would have better luck if I were a cute, homeless puppy that needed fertility treatments. But I'm not. I'm a real person who just wants to finish my degree, get my debt to a manageable level, and have an actual place to live with a refrigerator and a bathroom. Sad
Also, I would welcome any fundraising tips from anyone who has some experience. I've done everything the website has told me to do, but I don't really have any friends or know anyone that has the resources to help me.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
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Your location may have some bearing on your situation.
Where are you ?
Tennessee, unfortunately. I feel like it has to be the worst place in the country to be homeless, too. :(
I got stranded with a car wreck going through Tennessee once too! Met some very nice people there and also met some people who did not like me much on account of me being a Yankee. One guy I met at the firework store told me he was Mayor and that he got elected Mayor because he drove a Lincoln Town Car LOL I can't make this up. He actually did help me get out of that area though, got me a cheap alternator that got me All the way to California before it crapped out.
Does your car have more problems now, I mean after sitting for a year? Do you have any Idea what was making the battery crap out? A battery should be easy enough for you to scrounge up a trade of some sort for. But for the life of me I cant figure out how you got stuck there for so long.
Well it has a problem with stalling at intersections, lights, stop signs etc. And I mainly got stuck here for so long because I really don't have anywhere to go. I made a video which is in the link above that sort of explains it, but without being able to go to school, I've just been living in my car. :( That's the whole point of the fundraiser. I'm trying to make Financial Aid happy and get my assistance back. :(
If your car is stalling at lights intersections and stop signs you probably have the same problem I did and you might need a new alternator with one that only partially works you will need to keep your car moving above a certain speed in order to keep a charge in you battery.
Cycleing through a lead acid battery over and over is a good way to kill it or make new electrical problems with your car. Fun fact: With older cars, (meaning before your car was run by a computers), you could unplug you battery and run your car without one in it.
If the battery accepts a charge and you can start it, turn it off and then turn it on it without it being wired to another car, but then dies when you slow to a low speed or stop. It may be the alternator another problem or it could also be the one of main fuses in newer cars this is a much cheaper and easier fix. Ask around if anyone has a tester you can check your fuses with. If you find one you can use it to rule in or out the fuse problem before moving on to the Alternator.
From your pictures on the site I can not be sure, but it looks like you may drive a 90's Honda, is this accurate?
Scratch that last questions I see your driving a VW in the video you made.
errr question*
I was able to use a phone with video capabilities last night to make this if anyone would like more information about my whole living situation and financial aid trouble. :(
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vi0M8B8rjdU
Are you employed?
Not anymore. Getting any kind of work hasn't been easy living out of my car. But none of it would reverse my issues with Financial Aid. It's just too much money I have to pay back to requalify and go back to school.
I there a shelter nearby that will let you shower give you clean clothes and let you use their address? these particular things can be super helpful in setting you up to be considered for a job. Also volunteering your time at such a place can sometimes help you use it as a reference if you discuss this with them first.
Is* there^ not best typing day!
not my* best typing day! LOL
Well, truth is, not everyone gets to go to or finish college. And yours may have to wait. One thing to check out is AmeriCorps...they provide student loan forgiveness for signing up and working thru them for a year or two. My daughter got 10k knocked off her student loan balance. It's also a job and helps build your resume.
Really, I did not know that about AmeriCorps! that is some good info there! I checked out their site and there is a posting for a job in or near Townsend. Are you anywhere near Townsend TN? Here is a link to the job posting I found at the Americorp site. http://www.beyond.com/jobs/job-search.asp?id=166651369&aff=F6C5C5E7-7DE2...
Taking a cue form the link i provided and realizing that Americorp adverrtized jobs on indeed.com I did a search for teh term Americorps in Tennessee And this was the result. http://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=Americorps&l=Tennessee.
Here is Beyond.com search doing the same: http://www.beyond.com/jobs/job-search.asp?soid=1&k=Americorps&l=TN I guess Americoprs uses Beyond.com as well.
What year and model VW do you have?
I get the whole making financial assistance happy thing,but I feel getting your car up and running again may prove more helpful in getting you out of your current situation. From there you may be able to get yourself some jobs by looking on line in the mean time have you asked any of the parishioners if they had any work you could do for some cash. People are often much more willing to part with their money if they see your making an effort to work toward changing your situation, they would rather give you a hand up than a hand out.
Oh, that's the first thing I'm doing. And I almost have enough in donations to get a new battery. As soon as I do, that'll be the first update I make. It will still have the stalling problem, but at least I'll be able to restart it at any time. :)
I've made some money doing cleaning and such. I've used it to do my laundry at the laundromat and stay at the motel a few times so I could actually get a really good shower. The owner there would let me stay for $20 a night whenever I had it and he let me stay for a couple few free as well.
Oh, and it's a 96 VW Jetta. I almost had a free battery for it, but the battery was too big. But it's OK, as soon as I have the donations, I'm going to at least get my car running again, and then I just need to work on getting tuition paid back so I can get back in school.
I know a lot of people fundraise for tuition BEFORE they go to school, or maybe on a semester, by semester basis, but because I need to requalify for Financial Aid, I am asking for help with tuition I owe to requalify.
I hope for your sake that a battery is all you need. if you find you still have the same problem with a new battery I would do what I mentioned above I don't think you have a short because that would kill your battery when your car was just sitting there doing nothing or just running and you would smell the distinct smell of smoke from an electrical short. Actually I would try and check all the fuses first and if you find any fuses need replacement then after replacing them try jumping the car again and seeing if your problem has been solved. If your still having the problem then consider replacing you alternator. If you have a short it will take a bit of know-how and and trouble shooting to find it and after all is said and done once they begin it usually only the beginning of the end for the car so in any event you really hope that's not your problem.
Oh it was. And the church learned about my fundraising campaign online and was a little more eager to help. One gentleman replaced my battery for me and gave me a gas card and they raised a little bit of money for me so I would have a few extra dollars for a few weeks. My car still stalls, but I am no longer living in their parking lot. I lost the ability to charge my notebook from their outsite wall outlet, so I was offline a few days. I updated my fundraising page to see if I could get help with paying for my tuition while I just live in my car. I am anxious to start back school this semester, but since I don't qualify for financial aid, I have to come up with it out of pocket. It will be too expensive to raise the money for financial aid, but maybe I can get enough to be able to take some classes this fall.
Have you looked into AmeriCorps yet?
Cool, thanks for keeping us updated. If your car is still stalling and needing regular jumps then its probably you alternator. Please keep us up to date with the status of you car. If you need to gather web info like nearby resources perhaps we can help by doing a search for nearby resources if you share your location with us.