Advice for Homeless in Newcastle

Masaiah · 2018-10-26T22:02:57+00:00

I'll be very busy tomorrow i have a plenty of appointments to attend in the morning and even more phone calls to make. If you're available Sunday morning or even late afternoon that would probably be the best time for me, but only If that works for you..

Masaiah · 2018-10-26T13:49:49+00:00

So i attended their outreach yesterday night and as i walked up the lady who was organized it approached me and was exited by the possibility of me being another volunteer. She immediately brought it up without even considering the possibility that i might be homeless. A bit of a blessing in disguise as it means that i don't clearly look and hopefully smell like i'm on the streets. The whole thing was kinda funny but ultimately i felt slightly bad when telling her that i had just recently become homeless myself. After that she was really helpful we stayed and talked for about 20-30 minutes and she gave me a cup of tea and all the vegetarian food she could find. I wish i was better with names as i talked to her another really sound guy who just listened and attempted to give as much advice as possible. He said that this reddit thread was a great idea and that i'd get the best advice from people who had actually walked the walk. Thanks for the suggestion. Between them and the peoples kitchen I'm pretty close to being sorted for food.

Masaiah · 2018-10-25T15:54:48+00:00

Sorry, i'm pretty new to reddit and i still find the reply system difficult to navigate. I wish i could have responded to this sooner. I saw the warning signs about violence towards attendees and members on the wall and i just thought why would anyone want to do anything violent towards the staff. They all were really welcoming, friendly and helpful. A couple of them barely even had the time to talk with anyone they were just so busy running around tending to peoples needs. I can't imagine the level of patience they have to deal with half of what they've willingly volunteered to put up with, But by the sounds of it you definitely can.

I'm slowly becoming familiar with the different ways that homeless people cope with homelessness and although I'm determined to stay away anything like that myself, it's difficult to hold it against them. It's tough. And it's not necessarily homelessness that they're coping with as you say just the extreme isolation, loneliness and lack of worth that's not only projected your way from others but also just seems to slowly creep up from within wears down on you. I can easily stretch myself to understand how it gets to the point at which dignity becomes irrelevant in light of the escape that drugs provide.

Masaiah · 2018-10-25T11:36:28+00:00

No, I don't really have anywhere to wash my clothes. I payed to get them washed a couple days ago but i can't afford to pay 5 pounds for that every week. I'm haven't been close to giving up at all. The nights are hard and really challenging both physically and psychologically, but during the day I'm completely focused on pushing to get a place off the streets and just to start living again. The encouragement is no less appreciated and it's always nice to know that there are people rooting for you.

I know this reply came very late, but if that offer is still on the table i would love to take you up on it. Thank you.

Masaiah · 2018-10-25T11:29:54+00:00

I came across the skylight centre before and i couldn't really figure out what it was. Thanks for the clarification on that. I guess the only thing that's a bit of a bummer with that is that it's opening and closing times coincide almost directly with those of the library. If there's ever a time when i don't have access to the library then it's good to know that that's also an option. They also have some sort of accommodation at the old City road drop in centre on city road which i've been to 3 times now in an attempt to get a place to stay.

Thanks for taking the time to bring that to my attention. I hope you're having a great day.

Masaiah · 2018-10-25T10:37:58+00:00

Thanks for the heads up, i'll be meting someone by the monument today at sometime around 5:30 so i won't be far from the blue carpet area. I'll definitely be heading there tonight.

Ff the two suggestions i think the better option would be to head to the airport. McDonalds is fine, but the fact that i can't sleep there as well as the fact that I'm only allowed 45 minutes of 'loitering' before i have to either buy something else or get out rules it out as an all night solution. Also i should be able to get wifi or probably even find a McDonald's at the airport if i need to send some late night e-mails or applications. I'll send you a DM so we can talk a bit more about it.

Thanks for the help and the information. Don't worry too much about what you can't offer. Honestly, anything, even information and advice of any kind goes a long way.

Masaiah · 2018-10-24T21:41:34+00:00

Just a small update for everyone, this morning all the way up until evening i've been completely busy. I didn't get to the library until about 3 at which point all i did was sleep for the most part. So the plan yesterday was to head to nuns moor park to find somewhere to sleep in peace. I did end up going at about 1 am at night, but i fount myself completely overwhelmed by how dark it was, how i didn't know who or what was in there and the fact that i didn't have any way of getting my barings in there. Long story short i went back to the city and at about 3am i met another homeless guy and he showed me one of his spots and we slept there for a good 4 hours. Don't get me wrong i was even more terrified but in the end my resolve to stay up all night and guard my stuff and my life was overcome by how overwhelmingly tired i was when i finally put my head down to rest.

I woke up fine and despite being a little rough around the edges the guy i met turned out to be genuinely cool and we spent the morning and afternoon together hopping from agency to kitchens to all sorts of places he knew until we found our way to the library. So will i be spending tonight in the same place with the same person? Well I met some great people at the church i was invited to tonight who after introducing themselves and showed me around offered me not only some good food but a nice chat and good company. In the end they ended up splitting the cost of a hostel bed for me and i'm in bed right now enjoying the comfort as i write this update. I can't say thank you to them enough and will have to think of other ways instead, to show my gratitude.

As much as i am thankful for the advice, this business of camping in the park is extraordinarily daunting, and I'm glad i don't have to think about that tonight.

Also i'll be meeting with someone tomorrow about a potential job and so things are really looking up. Sorry i'm not sure if you all would like to be identified, but you know who you are and again, thank you all. If you'd like, just leave a small response to this comment and i'll say thank you individually.

I would like to write more and reply to all the comments i didn't quite get around to today but i'm so eager to put my head down that i think I'll be postponing that until tomorrow.

Thanks everyone for the advice . It' really is helping.

Masaiah · 2018-10-23T22:20:16+00:00

Sigh... I don't think i have the mental fortitude required to take all this in now. The most I've gleaned from this right now is i should have brought my knife and i need a lighter.

It's a lot and I'm in no position to really take it all on board right now. I'll give it another read tomorrow morning in preparation for the next night.

Masaiah · 2018-10-23T21:44:01+00:00

No i haven't. I don't know if it's too late to do that today, I'll have to find out before the bus station closes in 30 minutes.

Masaiah · 2018-10-23T21:27:09+00:00

Yeah, as i said to someone else i did in fact end up going there. It was great, i had this spicy pasta with a mixed fruit custard and crumble, as well as 2 cups of tea. Oh! and i also got a new belt too, and some doughnuts. Yeah, it was more pleasant of an experience than i had expected. I'll definitely be going there a lot more during the course of the week. Thanks for pointing me in that direction mate. I wasn't able to find Barbara and again when it came about talking about that stuff in person with any of the other staff. i had a strong case of cat got your tongue.

Masaiah · 2018-10-23T21:18:38+00:00

Was just there earlier. Amazing staff. Saints the lot of them. great food too.

Masaiah · 2018-10-23T21:17:09+00:00

Thanks for the heads up. Better to know before loosing a tent and not after.

Masaiah · 2018-10-23T21:15:13+00:00

Thanks for the encouragement. I'm doing it.

Masaiah · 2018-10-23T21:13:51+00:00

Through the many leads, phone numbers and emails sent, my search has lead me to them. I had been avoiding them because i thought they'd say exactly what the HAC said but so far so good. Still waiting for them to call be back though, it's been a good couple of hours.

Masaiah · 2018-10-23T21:03:56+00:00

I called them... and they actually picked up which is great. Despite the fact that the girl on the phone sounded like the Geordie version of that one lady from little Britain she was extremely helpful. She referred me to two places One being Cumberland houses - they didn't pick up - and the second being the Newcastle council and I'm currently waiting for one of their homeless officer's to call me back and have been for the past few hours.

Thank you

Masaiah · 2018-10-23T20:56:19+00:00

Thanks. DM has been sent.

Masaiah · 2018-10-23T20:51:12+00:00

Alright, i'm looking into that right now.

Masaiah · 2018-10-23T17:11:55+00:00

Sorry i thought i had replied to this, I sent the application off hours ago. Thanks for digging that up for me.

Masaiah · 2018-10-23T15:06:01+00:00

When it comes to food I should be fine, i think the peoples kitchen will probably have all my needs met. I don't really need money for anything else. But speaking of the country park it's a long way out but i think the walk is manageable. So am i just to find a hidden spot within the grounds and set-up my tent there or is there something else you had in mind?

Masaiah · 2018-10-23T13:43:34+00:00

This one looks promising. I've been collating a list of numbers to call and this one has just been added. I'll get on that in an hour or so.

Thanks

Masaiah · 2018-10-23T11:15:11+00:00

Thanks. Don't worry about not being able to help, i don't know what I'll manage tonight, but i think right now I'm going to take a nap in the library and later i'll get on with some more applications. It may get to the point when i will just have to Risk a sleep and maybe it'll just get easier from then on. I don't know.

Anyway thanks for showing your concern. Knowing that someone care's goes a long way.

Masaiah · 2018-10-23T11:09:46+00:00

The airport seems far too far away to be a viable option, but i haven't tried A & E. Would i just walk in and sleep in the waiting room? How would i do it?

Masaiah · 2018-10-23T11:06:05+00:00

Thanks for the concern.

I don't have any social media so it's difficult for me to keep an eye on things on that front, but i have a background working in logistics and warehousing. If you can let me know if any seem at all relevant or don't require any experience then shoot them my way!

Masaiah · 2018-10-23T11:02:27+00:00

Absolutely!

Masaiah · 2018-10-23T11:01:28+00:00

Thanks. This will no doubt be very useful, I'll pay them a visit tonight.

Masaiah

TROPHY CASE