I turned 60 earlier this year and honestly I can't believe I am now that old. The last 10 years have not been great to me as I have battled some health problems and now live on a small (around $800 a month) disability payment. 800 dollars doesn;t go very far in Boston but I was getting by but the last few weeks have been a nightmare.
I started having health problems around 8 years ago and was forced to go onto disability - NOT because I was looking at 'free' money - but because I needed the health insurance that came with it. I really had no choice but to go in that direction. I was lucky enough to find a small studio apartment in a private house and the landlord was taking only 30% of my check. I was able to get buy but I needed to be watchful of my spending as EVERY penny counted. Life wasn't great but I was surviving. Then everything fell apart in February of this year.
I need help....
I had been living in a nice home in Brookline. The owner was someone I had met at a local Starbucks and he had a small apartment on the second floor and he only was charging me 30% of my check. It was small but nice.
Suddenly he died of a heart attack on February 28th and his daughter decided she was going to sell the house and I had to vacate which finally happened on July 1st.
Since then I have been staying with a friend or for a few nights at a shelter in Jamiaca Plain at the Shattuck Hospital. That is not a nice place because of the drinkers and drug users. i will also admit I have slept outside a few nights. It isn't fun at my age. I have been searching and seaching for a place but there is little out there I can afford right now. I have my name on a zillion lists and I hope and pray. However a couple a weeks ago disaster happened.
I had done some work for someone I had met at a Starbucks and he paid me $150 by check.
IT BOUNCED and the person seems to have left the area.
But because the check bounced I was suddenly overdrawn with Bank of America and simple purchases like a coffee were suddenly being hit with a $35 fee on each transaction. I was unaware of this as the card kept being approved until suddenly I was $667 overdrawn. Bank of America refused to rebate any of the fees and when my August check arrived on the 3rd of the month I was left with $118 to last the month. None of my friends can help as they are just getting by and I have no family.
Meanwhile I am searching for ANY kind of housing and my best option is perhaps a sober house in Framingham come September or October. I have to admit I am overwhelmed at this point.
I will be honest my life has been a struggle.
I will be upfront - I suffer from depression and PTSD. The main source of my problems stems from being abused by a Catholic priest back in the mid 60's after the sudden death of my father. He took a special interest in me.
It was something that I suppressed for decades and it was not until a decade ago I finally had to come to grips with it. I have yet to receive a settlement as this happened in the state of Rhode Island where I attended a Catholic prep school and honestly I doubt I will ever see much from the Diocese of Providence as unlike Boston to the north, there IS no money in Rhode Island. I would like them to say "we are sorry" but they seem incapable of doing that.
I became a loner in my 20's and while not as bad as Travis Bickle I did become a cab driver and drove for Boston Cab in the Fenway for many years. No regrets but I just finally burnt out from the job and when Boston Coach took away all the downtown work I moved on.
I have been sober now for over 9 years and i would NEVER want to go back there. We are taught in 12-Step that everything happens for a reason but I can't take anymore.
I am on a fixed income and it is only $800 a month. My taxi driving days came back to haunt me as I paid little in taxes and thus my government check is small.
A couple of years ago when i went to renew my drivers license I found out I owed the $1,440 in unpaid parking tickets dating back to 1988-9. These were all taxi related as I didn't own a car and I was told the cab owner had PAID them but he did not as I as the driver was responsible. I can not get my licencse back until they are paid, and there is simply no way I can do it. It is my own fault.
So..somebody suggested I just blog about it and ask for help. I have an old PayPal account that I used on Ebay and another friend suggested I put that PayPal link on the blog if somebody out there wanted to help me a little.
I know this is a 21st Century Way of panhandling which NEVER in a million years did I ever expect to do but I am at wits end. I would work if I could but who is going to hire a 60 year old with bad legs.
One last thing. An old friend from AA wants me to relocate to the south and live with her. She is just getting by as well but she moved back as she simply couldn't afford Boston anymore. leaving Boston is now my goal but somehow I have to survive August with no money.
I am embarrased to be doing this but I am at the end of my rope. I am not a thief though I can now understand why a man could be driven to that.
If anybody has doubts they can e-mail me and i would be happy to meet and show my bank statements. I just can't believe Bank of America could do that to me and then refuse to rebate any of the fees. I have been with them since it was BayBank. It is just very frustrating.
Thank You for reading.
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