I Lost Almost Everything
Subtitle: Focus on the other people, not me
This is my story. I want to keep my name a secret, at least for now. It started when I was out of town for more than two weeks. As I planned to move to another county, I placed an ad in a local paper to sell my mobile home. When I returned, I found that my home was vandalized. Someone took the furnace, the hot water tank, the refrigerator, the washer and dryer, and destroyed the electric breaker box. Also missing were my two desks, my exercise equipment, and other personal stuff. Of course, the plumbing materials were taken and the copper wiring was gone So, what was left? -- just a shell.
The front door handle was removed so I had no lock on the front door. I almost didn't get the back door closed because it was damaged. I stayed in the trailer for awhile and invited a male friend to stay with me as he was homeless at the time. With no heat, I stayed as long as I could. The friend left and I stayed in a mobile home with a string attached to an inside nail to close the door. I didn't think I could make it in the West Virginia winter. I was so cold that I didn't want to get my head out of the covers for anything -- not for food and water, bathroom, or anything.
I went to the local DHHR office and was told that there was not one single shelter on their list that had a handicapped spot. A friend found someone who wanted to move, and we considered sharing an apartment. However, the other person had more money than I had so it was not fair that I would pay a smaller portion. My frustrated friend drove me and the other person around for hours in an attempt to find a place for me or for both of us. She finally called the governor's office because as she stated, "I can't believe there is no place for a woman your age to go to keep from freezing". Someone from the governor's office called the local Senior Services. One of their representatives found someone with a heart and let me sleep on a couch.
In the meantime, my mobile home was ransacked. Some of my bedding was missing and some of the blankets were partially on the porch and partially inside the front door. My personal bags of miscellaneous items were scattered around the floor.
What was I supposed to do with the mobile home? It may be hard to believe, but I had two separate people who wanted to purchase it....as it stood!
Yes, I had two buyers who needed a place so badly that they would take an empty shell just to have a roof over their heads. I was upset and mixed up and sort of promised both of them to sell it to them. Then I thought of legal problems. I wanted some sort of compensation. I had filed a police report the first evening that I discovered the incident and thought I needed to keep ownership for legal matters. Well, I waited, and waited, and waited. Since then, someone else stays in it just to pay the lot rent. Yes, he needed a home, too and settled for the badly damaged mobile home. So, what can I do? Who knows???
I have been renting a room in a nearby town. I hope someday I will get a better home. So, until then ...????
The main point I wish to relay to my story is for you not to think just about me...think of the two who wanted to buy a destroyed home and the one who is in it now. THINK ABOUT ALL OF US and the many others who have nowhere to go, especially in the cold winters and the hot summers.
The front door handle was removed so I had no lock on the front door. I almost didn't get the back door closed because it was damaged. I stayed in the trailer for awhile and invited a male friend to stay with me as he was homeless at the time. With no heat, I stayed as long as I could. The friend left and I stayed in a mobile home with a string attached to an inside nail to close the door. I didn't think I could make it in the West Virginia winter. I was so cold that I didn't want to get my head out of the covers for anything -- not for food and water, bathroom, or anything.
I went to the local DHHR office and was told that there was not one single shelter on their list that had a handicapped spot. A friend found someone who wanted to move, and we considered sharing an apartment. However, the other person had more money than I had so it was not fair that I would pay a smaller portion. My frustrated friend drove me and the other person around for hours in an attempt to find a place for me or for both of us. She finally called the governor's office because as she stated, "I can't believe there is no place for a woman your age to go to keep from freezing". Someone from the governor's office called the local Senior Services. One of their representatives found someone with a heart and let me sleep on a couch.
In the meantime, my mobile home was ransacked. Some of my bedding was missing and some of the blankets were partially on the porch and partially inside the front door. My personal bags of miscellaneous items were scattered around the floor.
What was I supposed to do with the mobile home? It may be hard to believe, but I had two separate people who wanted to purchase it....as it stood!
Yes, I had two buyers who needed a place so badly that they would take an empty shell just to have a roof over their heads. I was upset and mixed up and sort of promised both of them to sell it to them. Then I thought of legal problems. I wanted some sort of compensation. I had filed a police report the first evening that I discovered the incident and thought I needed to keep ownership for legal matters. Well, I waited, and waited, and waited. Since then, someone else stays in it just to pay the lot rent. Yes, he needed a home, too and settled for the badly damaged mobile home. So, what can I do? Who knows???
I have been renting a room in a nearby town. I hope someday I will get a better home. So, until then ...????
The main point I wish to relay to my story is for you not to think just about me...think of the two who wanted to buy a destroyed home and the one who is in it now. THINK ABOUT ALL OF US and the many others who have nowhere to go, especially in the cold winters and the hot summers.