The fast beats of an early 2000's pop song bounced around the small bakery, mixing with loud chatter from workers and customers alike while the smells of freshly baked breads wafted out the door, luring in even the most disciplined health nuts from the gym next door. Jessica Meadows, a regular visitor of the bakery, slipped quietly in, going unnoticed by many. Her clothes hung loosely on her skinny frame and she carried all her possessions in a backpack on her back. She was fidgety, her nervous eyes darting this way and that, avoiding eye contact with anyone. People tended to turn their heads the other way when they saw her, some even looking away with scorn. They saw her, but they tried not to. However when she reached the counter, I smiled and greeted her. She smiled timidly back and ordered her usual: a half turkey sandwich with cucumbers and a water cup. I proceeded to offer her a thick slice of bread to sample and went on to make her sandwich, which she then ate quietly in the corner.
I had seen her around, walking down the streets, eyes cast to the ground. She was always alone, circling the parking lots walking to an unknown destination. We would see her walk past our windows and speculate on the story of how this shy, anxious woman came to be. Where did she come from every day? Where did she go at night? Was she really always alone? Surely she must have someone in her life. Some would even scoff behind her back when she came in for nothing more than to sample a slice of bread.
It was on a particularly blustery day that I finally was able to learn more about her. I came into work and saw she was the only customer in the building. Everyone else seemed to be hiding indoors, not willing to risk the cold winds for a loaf of bread.
"Hey, how can we help you?" I chimed with my best customer service smile.
"Just this," she said meekly as she handed me an order form for a half sandwich.
“Have you had a nice day?”
She gave a slight nod but there was discomfort in her eyes. Her hair was disheveled from the wind and I noticed a bandage.
"What happened to your head?" I asked.
"My ex pushed me and I fell down the stairs and hit my head," came her reply in barely a murmur.
I was stunned. I didn't know how to respond. I had never heard her say more than a short sentence and definitely nothing this personal.
"Are you ok?" I stammered, worried.
She assured me in a small voice that she was fine. As her sandwich was being made I asked her more about her life and learned that she had been living on the streets and in shelters for a little over a year now. Before this she had been living with her then boyfriend. She had returned to his house in need of help, but it only resulted in a fight.
"Our relationship had been on the rocks for some time," she told me, "But I wasn't making enough money on my own, so I stayed. I needed him."
He worked at a loan center and she had a part time job in customer service. They made ends meet but she knew her job wouldn't provide enough by itself, and so she never left.
"The days were so long, my morale was wavering." It had seemed to Jessica that life had lost its meaning.
And then she was raped, a fate she could barely recount to me. Too scared to tell her boyfriend, she hid the truth from everyone. They went about their lives and she did her best to move past it, until she found out she was pregnant with triplets. At this point she could hide the truth no longer and she came forward and told her boyfriend.
"I knew he would be so mad. He was always paranoid. I was terrified to tell him the truth"
Her worst fears came true as he accused her of infidelity. He kicked her out with nowhere to go. Jessica had no family, no other friends, and only a meager income to support herself. She became sick, this in addition to being pregnant rendered her from working. She was in and out of shelters and spent many nights on the streets.
Shocked, I asked her what had happened to the triplets.
"I gave them up for adoption" was her simple but sad response.
There was heartbreak in her eyes now and I wondered how many others had been in her shoes. How many others, but for dumb luck, could end up in her place.
This is an issue we face as a community. As cost of housing rises and wages remain stagnant, more and more people are facing difficulties in finding somewhere to live. In many cases, the only option is to turn to shelters. The first step we need to take is realize that there is a problem. Not just a problem that these people have created for themselves, but a real economic dilemma that we all face. Until this is realized, we will not be able to adequately address the issue at hand.
I had seen her around, walking down the streets, eyes cast to the ground. She was always alone, circling the parking lots walking to an unknown destination. We would see her walk past our windows and speculate on the story of how this shy, anxious woman came to be. Where did she come from every day? Where did she go at night? Was she really always alone? Surely she must have someone in her life. Some would even scoff behind her back when she came in for nothing more than to sample a slice of bread.
It was on a particularly blustery day that I finally was able to learn more about her. I came into work and saw she was the only customer in the building. Everyone else seemed to be hiding indoors, not willing to risk the cold winds for a loaf of bread.
"Hey, how can we help you?" I chimed with my best customer service smile.
"Just this," she said meekly as she handed me an order form for a half sandwich.
“Have you had a nice day?”
She gave a slight nod but there was discomfort in her eyes. Her hair was disheveled from the wind and I noticed a bandage.
"What happened to your head?" I asked.
"My ex pushed me and I fell down the stairs and hit my head," came her reply in barely a murmur.
I was stunned. I didn't know how to respond. I had never heard her say more than a short sentence and definitely nothing this personal.
"Are you ok?" I stammered, worried.
She assured me in a small voice that she was fine. As her sandwich was being made I asked her more about her life and learned that she had been living on the streets and in shelters for a little over a year now. Before this she had been living with her then boyfriend. She had returned to his house in need of help, but it only resulted in a fight.
"Our relationship had been on the rocks for some time," she told me, "But I wasn't making enough money on my own, so I stayed. I needed him."
He worked at a loan center and she had a part time job in customer service. They made ends meet but she knew her job wouldn't provide enough by itself, and so she never left.
"The days were so long, my morale was wavering." It had seemed to Jessica that life had lost its meaning.
And then she was raped, a fate she could barely recount to me. Too scared to tell her boyfriend, she hid the truth from everyone. They went about their lives and she did her best to move past it, until she found out she was pregnant with triplets. At this point she could hide the truth no longer and she came forward and told her boyfriend.
"I knew he would be so mad. He was always paranoid. I was terrified to tell him the truth"
Her worst fears came true as he accused her of infidelity. He kicked her out with nowhere to go. Jessica had no family, no other friends, and only a meager income to support herself. She became sick, this in addition to being pregnant rendered her from working. She was in and out of shelters and spent many nights on the streets.
Shocked, I asked her what had happened to the triplets.
"I gave them up for adoption" was her simple but sad response.
There was heartbreak in her eyes now and I wondered how many others had been in her shoes. How many others, but for dumb luck, could end up in her place.
This is an issue we face as a community. As cost of housing rises and wages remain stagnant, more and more people are facing difficulties in finding somewhere to live. In many cases, the only option is to turn to shelters. The first step we need to take is realize that there is a problem. Not just a problem that these people have created for themselves, but a real economic dilemma that we all face. Until this is realized, we will not be able to adequately address the issue at hand.