How many of you Duers have ever been homeless at some point in your life?

[hunter]

16. I ended up homeless the second time I was "asked" to take time off from school...

... for mental health issues.

I tried going back to my parents but I wouldn't tell them anything of my life and ended up fighting with my dad and punching him in the face. My parents already had crazy people living with them, most especially my grandparents, so it really wasn't a healthy environment for me. And there was no way in hell I was going to burden them with my own troubles, or tell them of the violent situations I'd found myself in.

My car broke down near the university and I was sleeping in it when the police threatened to tow it away. That was a huge threat to me because it had all my tools and everything else I owned in it.

I hadn't quite burned all my bridges and arranged to park my car in a church parking lot.

People offered to help me but I was too psychotic and paranoid to accept it. I was completely feral and didn't have much trouble finding food or anything else I needed in dumpsters, etc..

A Vietnam War vet broke through to me and offered me space in his garden shed. That's where I pulled my mind back together and I started helping out on geology field trips and so on. I also started getting paid work again, enough to buy parts and get my car running. Eventually I was allowed to return to school, a dear professor helped me do that, and this third time I managed to stick it out and actually graduate without too many problems.

All in all it took me nine years to graduate from college.