One night in Louisville, I was walking back to my sleeping spot and I was stopped by 4 guys. Right then I knew I was in trouble. They shoved me to the ground and started to kick and punch me, I just curled up in a fetal position and let them beat on me. There was no way I would've been able to defend myself against them.
After about 2 minutes of being beat on they grabbed my backpack, my wallet and took my shoes. I just laid there unable to move. Someone came walking up the sidewalk a few minutes later and seen me. They called an ambulance and the police also arrived.
The next thing I remember was walking up in a hospital bed. I had a doctor telling me that I had been really lucky not to be in worse shape. He said I had 2 cracked ribs, and multiple bumps and bruises. Also my right eye was swollen shut.
I stayed at the hospital for 2 days, while they kept an eye on me to make sure I had no major head trauma and such. I never called my family the whole time I was there, because I didn't want to worry them, and I also knew that no one in my family would be able to go to Louisville from Michigan to see me. Besides what would be the point?
I will say that that night I got beat down and had all my stuff stolen from me including my shoes was one of the scariest nights of my life. What kind of asshole steals another man's shoes off of his feet?
The police took a report from me, and as far as I know nothing was ever done. Which really I didn't expect much to be done, I didn't really get a good look at any of them, and I was just glad to be alive really.
March 31, 2012
March 30, 2012
Casino
One of the things that my friend and I done in Louisville was go on a shuttle bus from Louisville to Evansville, Indiana every Friday night to a casino. We went on Friday night because they gave each person a $25 casino credit, and each person got a free buffet when they arrived by bus to the casino.
It was a long ride, about 2 hours one way to the casino, but it took up most of the night, we would leave Louisville at 7pm, arrive in Evansville at 9. We would leave at 2am and be back in Louisville around 4am. With $25 in our pocket.
I remember going there one time and taking a chance with my money and I ended up winning $215. That was like winning the lottery to me. That money fed me for about 2 weeks.
A lot of the time when we went there, my friend and I would leave and go walk around Evansville. I usually would buy a soda, and he opted for beer or other fine liquors. Generally he was shitfaced by the time we got back on the bus to head back to Louisville.
So thanks to the casino in Evansville for providing this formerly homeless person, $25 just about every weekend. It was much appreciated.
It was a long ride, about 2 hours one way to the casino, but it took up most of the night, we would leave Louisville at 7pm, arrive in Evansville at 9. We would leave at 2am and be back in Louisville around 4am. With $25 in our pocket.
I remember going there one time and taking a chance with my money and I ended up winning $215. That was like winning the lottery to me. That money fed me for about 2 weeks.
A lot of the time when we went there, my friend and I would leave and go walk around Evansville. I usually would buy a soda, and he opted for beer or other fine liquors. Generally he was shitfaced by the time we got back on the bus to head back to Louisville.
So thanks to the casino in Evansville for providing this formerly homeless person, $25 just about every weekend. It was much appreciated.
March 29, 2012
University of Louisville
I use to spend many hours hanging out on the University of Louisville campus. One of the places I hung out the most was the library. There were days that I would sit there from 7am until 12am. I mainly used the internet and played games to kill time.
There were times that I would go and find a chair in the library and fall asleep for 4-5 hours to try and catch up on the sleep that I was lacking from the night before. I done this a lot. It was peaceful and most people wouldn't even bother you since a lot of the students done the same thing.
One of the other things I use to do on the campus was walk around the buildings when classes were over looking for food to eat. I mainly looked through trash cans and sometimes I would sneak into offices and look in the refrigerators to see if there was any kind of food available. I wasn't proud of myself for doing this but at the time I just didn't give a shit about if I got in trouble or not.
There was a few times where it was so cold at night that I would go into one of the many buildings on the campus find a dark place to hide and I would sleep there until morning. I had a few close calls with people that came into clean the buildings, but I was never seen or caught inside of the building.
One of the places I use hit up all the time when I was hanging around the campus a lot was Papa Johns. I would go there to the dumpster and there was always fresh pizzas in boxes that had been tossed out. These pizzas fed me more times than I can count. I was very fortunate that I had this because there would've been a lot of times I would've went hungry without it.
I met a lot of other homeless people hanging around the campus, one guy that I met, we became pretty good friends and done pretty much everything together. He showed me where all the feeding sites were, he showed good places to hide and sleep at night. He also told me how the shelter system worked in the city. (I will tell you more about the shelters in Louisville later)
This new friend of mine introduced me to a restaurant called Mastersons. They were just off of the campus and every night we would go behind their building and they would have all the food they threw out from the buffet in the trash. They must've thrown way 30lbs of fried chicken every night. This became my hot meal each night. The food was usually still warm so it was nice to eat. Much better than cold pizza all the time.
When I wasn't with my friend, I would be wandering around the campus just trying to blend in. I done my best to keep clothes on that looked like something a student would wear, and I always wore the University of Louisville sweatshirt and hat that was given to me at a clothing place.
One of my other activities on the campus was going to the SAC (Student Activity Center). I would go to the back of the building inside and there was a television I would sit and watch during the off hours. I would catch up on the news and weather and then a lot of times fall asleep on the couch that was located by the television.
I spent about 10 months of my year or so in Louisville on the campus. For me it was a home. Lots of people around so I just blended in. Sometimes in a small small way I miss the campus.
There were times that I would go and find a chair in the library and fall asleep for 4-5 hours to try and catch up on the sleep that I was lacking from the night before. I done this a lot. It was peaceful and most people wouldn't even bother you since a lot of the students done the same thing.
One of the other things I use to do on the campus was walk around the buildings when classes were over looking for food to eat. I mainly looked through trash cans and sometimes I would sneak into offices and look in the refrigerators to see if there was any kind of food available. I wasn't proud of myself for doing this but at the time I just didn't give a shit about if I got in trouble or not.
There was a few times where it was so cold at night that I would go into one of the many buildings on the campus find a dark place to hide and I would sleep there until morning. I had a few close calls with people that came into clean the buildings, but I was never seen or caught inside of the building.
One of the places I use hit up all the time when I was hanging around the campus a lot was Papa Johns. I would go there to the dumpster and there was always fresh pizzas in boxes that had been tossed out. These pizzas fed me more times than I can count. I was very fortunate that I had this because there would've been a lot of times I would've went hungry without it.
I met a lot of other homeless people hanging around the campus, one guy that I met, we became pretty good friends and done pretty much everything together. He showed me where all the feeding sites were, he showed good places to hide and sleep at night. He also told me how the shelter system worked in the city. (I will tell you more about the shelters in Louisville later)
This new friend of mine introduced me to a restaurant called Mastersons. They were just off of the campus and every night we would go behind their building and they would have all the food they threw out from the buffet in the trash. They must've thrown way 30lbs of fried chicken every night. This became my hot meal each night. The food was usually still warm so it was nice to eat. Much better than cold pizza all the time.
When I wasn't with my friend, I would be wandering around the campus just trying to blend in. I done my best to keep clothes on that looked like something a student would wear, and I always wore the University of Louisville sweatshirt and hat that was given to me at a clothing place.
One of my other activities on the campus was going to the SAC (Student Activity Center). I would go to the back of the building inside and there was a television I would sit and watch during the off hours. I would catch up on the news and weather and then a lot of times fall asleep on the couch that was located by the television.
I spent about 10 months of my year or so in Louisville on the campus. For me it was a home. Lots of people around so I just blended in. Sometimes in a small small way I miss the campus.
March 28, 2012
Louisville
When I was in Louisville, Kentucky I spent about a year or so on the streets there also. There is a huge difference between Louisville and Fort Lauderdale though. The way the 2 cities treat the homeless are completely different.
In Louisville they almost embrace the homeless, where in Fort Lauderdale, they try to push them away and want to forget homeless people exist. Pretty shitty.
My first week in Louisville, it was mid January, so it was pretty darn cold up there. I remember that I was wandering around about 4am looking for a place to sleep, and I came upon a park in the city (Central Park). Well I wander around the park looking for a place to sleep and the first thing I seen was an outdoor stage but it was in no way a place to sleep, there was cover but it was open window and doorways, the wind could blow right through it.
I continued looking around and found that the bathrooms were left unlocked at night and when I opened the door, the bathroom was heated and I was alone, so I put my blanket down on the floor and laid down. I was so happy to find a warm place for the night to sleep. I just got to sleep when I heard the door bang open, I looked up and seen 2 Louisville cops standing there. I hurried up and got my wallet to show them my ID and the one cop looked at me and told me to relax.
He said they just seen me enter the bathroom and wanted to make sure I had blankets that I was ok. I was shocked, in Fort Lauderdale, they would've kicked me out or arrested me for trespassing. They gave me an extra blanket and a gift card to McDonald's and told me good luck, they also explained to me where to go to get a warm shower, food and any clothing that I may need.
They left and I went back to sleep, later on the maintenance lady opened the door to clean, she was like rise and shine time to go. So I got up to leave and she shook my hand and slipped me $5. Told me good luck. And that I was welcome to stay in that bathroom as much as I needed to as long as I kept my trash picked up when I left each morning.
This was my first real experience being homeless in Louisville, and I have a lot more to share, so stick around.
In Louisville they almost embrace the homeless, where in Fort Lauderdale, they try to push them away and want to forget homeless people exist. Pretty shitty.
My first week in Louisville, it was mid January, so it was pretty darn cold up there. I remember that I was wandering around about 4am looking for a place to sleep, and I came upon a park in the city (Central Park). Well I wander around the park looking for a place to sleep and the first thing I seen was an outdoor stage but it was in no way a place to sleep, there was cover but it was open window and doorways, the wind could blow right through it.
I continued looking around and found that the bathrooms were left unlocked at night and when I opened the door, the bathroom was heated and I was alone, so I put my blanket down on the floor and laid down. I was so happy to find a warm place for the night to sleep. I just got to sleep when I heard the door bang open, I looked up and seen 2 Louisville cops standing there. I hurried up and got my wallet to show them my ID and the one cop looked at me and told me to relax.
He said they just seen me enter the bathroom and wanted to make sure I had blankets that I was ok. I was shocked, in Fort Lauderdale, they would've kicked me out or arrested me for trespassing. They gave me an extra blanket and a gift card to McDonald's and told me good luck, they also explained to me where to go to get a warm shower, food and any clothing that I may need.
They left and I went back to sleep, later on the maintenance lady opened the door to clean, she was like rise and shine time to go. So I got up to leave and she shook my hand and slipped me $5. Told me good luck. And that I was welcome to stay in that bathroom as much as I needed to as long as I kept my trash picked up when I left each morning.
This was my first real experience being homeless in Louisville, and I have a lot more to share, so stick around.
March 27, 2012
Wanna Get High?
When I was homeless I was always being pressured to use drugs, and drink booze with the crowd. Somehow I managed to keep away from all of that bullshit. It wasn't easy, there were a lot of people who continuously offered it to me.
It seemed like almost everyday I had a person coming up to me asking me if I wanted to smoke pot, do some crack, drink a beer, down some pills, you name it it was offered. My biggest question was if people are so fucking broke and on the street, how the hell do you continue to support your drug habit? And then the answer hit me, they either scam people outta money or steal things to sell for their drugs.
I was on the street about 5-6 years, and in that time, I never once had the desire to drink or do drugs. I could never understand the desire to get high or drunk and look like more of a bum.
Anyway, I am glad I stayed away from the drugs and booze.
It seemed like almost everyday I had a person coming up to me asking me if I wanted to smoke pot, do some crack, drink a beer, down some pills, you name it it was offered. My biggest question was if people are so fucking broke and on the street, how the hell do you continue to support your drug habit? And then the answer hit me, they either scam people outta money or steal things to sell for their drugs.
I was on the street about 5-6 years, and in that time, I never once had the desire to drink or do drugs. I could never understand the desire to get high or drunk and look like more of a bum.
Anyway, I am glad I stayed away from the drugs and booze.
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