I really don't want to die here.

[Annie-Xmas]

I was where you are now four years ago. I applied at retail stores for temporary part-time holiday jobs. I am now a full-time permanent cashier.

Stores hire people over the holidays and, if they work out, keep them. It’s worth a shot.

[GreenWyvern]

Simply splashing cold water into your eyes for a few minutes several times a day can help with many eye conditions, especially itching, burning, and dryness. It may give some relief, and it can’t do any harm.

[Crazy_Canuck]

@Sage_Rat

Apologies for bypassing the more important aspects of your post, but since the early 80s? :eek:

Was there a super early usenet group for the SDMB?

Yup, there were actually two that I recall. I remember alt.fan.cecil.adams and I think there was also a misc.facts.straight-dope group as well in the pre-AOL days.

[TruCelt]

If you are able to drive and clean house you may be able to find a live-in work arrangement with some of the local elderly folks. Look in Craig’s List under “Elder Care.” Some will require lifting, but many just need someone who can make a meal and do the laundry without burning the house down, and drive them to appointments.

I don’t know what the Uber/Lyft status in your area is, but if you can clean the back seat of your car, and get your license/insurance in order, they are really helpful in getting you started.

If you like dogs there is also “Wag!” which is like Uber for dog walking. You give your info and they certify you, and then folks can contact you through the app when they need a walker. There is some GPS addition so they can actually see where their dog is taken.

Help to find medical care: http://ohiofreeclinics.org/who-we-are/locations/find-a-clinic.html

I hope some of this is helpful! Please don’t give up. Above all get to a medical clinic and tell the nurse/doctor exactly how you are feeling. Print this out for them if you can, or write it all down and hand it to them so they can’t interrupt you.

Once you are feeling healthy again, all these other problems will look more manageable.

[up_the_junction]

@PatriotGrrrl

Rents are so high that there’s no way you’d be able to rent a room on any kind of low income, but there’s tent cities all over the place and lots of services for the homeless …

Jeez, it’s like a capitalist apocalypse.

LongTimeLurker, I have no advice other than to say I have found through life that the more you withdrawal the less capacity there is for things to swing around.

And they do, in the most unexpected, remarkable ways, often for no apparent or logical reason. But you do need to continue to interact with the world. Very best to you.

[Delicious]

I’ve heard lots of homeless people try to make it to Hawaii, nice and warm I imagine

[Beckdawrek]

Some apartment complexes hire managers, housekeeping, and maintainace workers. The salary is a an apartment with utilities. My old uncle did this for years. He died at ninety and was taking care of maintainace for a complex of 48 apartments. So it is not hard work. The groundskeeper job would be harder, I assume. Go to every complex in your area and ask. There is a big turnover in this work, I hear. Good luck!

[SeaDragonTattoo]

GenTeal makes ointment meant for you to sleep with. It’s better to gently press a warm wet paper towel to your eyes than to rub them. The more you rub, the more risk you take of scratching/scarring your corneas and then you really can’t see. Sounds like drops aren’t doing it for you any more and at least look at the GenTeal line of ointments, there’s severe for overnight, but also mild to moderate for daytime use.

And then what everyone else said. Reach out for help, there are people who want to help you. And seasonal work is definitely upon us, groceries like Trader Joe’s are decent employers.

[aruvqan]

@JackieLikesVariety

that is surprising and counter-intuitive…but good info.

I think getting out of homeless is so hard (not that I’ve had any experience but just reading) that you should try to get someplace ASAP. have you looked for cheap housing on Craigslist? look in rooms shared. don’t sell you car.

at some point, being homeless with some planning is better than without - but it’s still so last ditch I think you should not have it be your plan. there are cheap places, just not great ones.

honestly, I met a guy who lived in a storage place. he rents three of them because he has one just for books but he is a real exception, I think. it’s a lifestyle he has chosen and enjoys.

who have you talked to locally about options? some kind of social services?

One of the guys over on another message board I read regularly [this would have been about 5 years ago] had gotten tired of barely making ends meet working at a mattress store [of all places] and bought a full sized Dodge Ram Van [you know, those big white vans that businesses always used to have before sprinters and transits became so popular] and converted it for living in. He set up several deep cycle batteries to function as the power for everything but the engine, and ran the 12 volt high efficiency lights and a laptop. He had a gym membership, so he got his daily exercise and shower done there, and did laundry in a laundromat. The small amount of driving he did kept the batteries powered and he parked at the edge of an industrial area for the night so he sort of blended in. If you had even a momvan you could perhaps manage this [I have done winter road trips in my mom van, and was pretty comfortable on my cot with one of those camp eggcrate mattresses and the heavy sleeping bag supplimented with pne of mrAru’s [woobies](http://taskandpurpose.com/why-the-woobie-is-the-greatest-military-invention-ever-fielded/). ]

Though if a move to a warmer state is in order, maybe inland Texas? I know people always suggest Florida or Arizona, but it gets pretty damned hot there, hot enough to kill without air conditioning sometimes.

[Mean_Mr.Mustard]

The burning eye thing, while seeming trivial compared to your other problems, is no joke (not that anyone is treating it as one).

It happens to me too, so bad at times that I have to pull over while driving until it passes.

I know money is tight, but bypass the Visine and other cheaper offerings on the shelf; spring for Artificial Tears. This is my opthomologist’s recommendation.

Best of luck to you.
mmm

[LongTimeLurker]

@Gatopescado

What kind of car?

2009 Mazda Tribute. It probably isn’t worth a whole lot, and it needs new tires.

[LongTimeLurker]

@Beckdawrek

No family? A big place like Columbus,Ohio should have free medical clinics. They are usually run by churchs. Goodwill employs workers with your skills. There is help out there.

I am afraid I don’t have any family left. The ‘free’ clinic I was sent to for my eyes actually cost 60 dollars a vist for someone with no income. I’ll Google Goodwill to see if have anything in Columbus.

[LongTimeLurker]

@HoneyBadgerDC

You say you have no skills?? You write very well and you are articulate, there are any number of jobs that could us your skills. I would invest what I had left in an eye specialist to see if they can narrow down your problem or possibly just do more online research and maybe you can self diagnose, that seems to be a better option than a lot of Dr’s seem to offer these days. I have a similar problem with my eyes but it seems to only last for 1/2 an hour or so at a time a few times a day.

Thank you for your kind words. The last eye doctor I went to didn’t prescribe me the good stuff because I couldn’t afford to pay for it, I was paying cash. The scripts she did give me were reasonably priced, but they really didn’t seem to fix my eyes for any length of time. I will Google Dry Eyes to see what I can find. I have been taking fish oil, that is supposed to help, but I am not ‘seeing’ much improvement there eitherl.

[LongTimeLurker]

@Whatever4

I have nothing to offer except what my eye dr. told me. Frequent use of a warm, ideally moist, compress on your eyes. That burning is horrid, I have to stop whatever I’m doing when it hits, as I cannot open my eyes. Try using a warm facecloth to gently gently gently wipe eyelids and lashes. Sometimes a tiny flake of dried tears can fall into your eye and start the burning process. TheraTears is one product which has no preservatives. Possibly there is something in your eye drops that is exacerbating the problem. Try, too, to just cup your hands over your eyes when they are burning; helps resist the urge to rub. You could try putting a moist washcloth in a baggie or lidded container at bedtime, wrap it in a towel, and put it under the covers. You could put it on your eyes as soon as you wake up, to soften the eye glue that’s causing irritation.

Hope this helps.

Thank you for your help. My eye doctor also recommended a warm/hot compress on the eyes to help break up the dried oil build-up.

[LongTimeLurker]

@cochrane

I don’t know the actual number of homeless people who have one, but if you are low-income or on some kind of aid program such as food stamps, you could be eligible for a free smartphone with free minutes and data every month.

I do have a Trac Phone that I bought years ago. I have time and days on it, but I am not sure how I would be able to keep it charged. I have a car charger, but I don’t know how long I will be able to keep putting gas into it. Thank you for your input, it is appreciated.

[LongTimeLurker]

@Helena330

You definitely qualify for food stamps, and it sounds like other programs in Ohio. I know you’re not a family, but this would be a place to start. If they can’t help they will know who can.

Ohio TANF Offices

Thank you for the link. I bookmarked it so I can look at it later today.

[LongTimeLurker]

@Chefguy

Ask the mods to let you set up a gofundme site, start a new thread and link to this one. You will likely get enough to tide you over while you sort things out. Good luck.

Thank you Chefguy for the advice. I will have to think about that. I really don’t like seeing gofundme’s being set up for weddings, vacations, etc… I don’t think my needs are much more deserving than some of those types of requests.

[LongTimeLurker]

@JackieLikesVariety

Long Time, you sound depressed enough that I think you should call the suicide hotline. what can it hurt? they must know about resources and they have a lot of experience.

You are quite right. I am bi-polar and have suffered from depression for decades. I did call the suicide hotline and I did get some help from them. Your observation and advice is spot on.

[LongTimeLurker]

@Sunny_Daze

I think you need a plan to get you through another 2 years or so before you can claim regular Social Security, which gives us all a time frame.

On the SSDI part of this puzzle, go get an attorney. They will get the process sorted and moving for you, and they will not charge you while they are doing it. Their payment will come out of your first check from SSDI. That will be a lump sum and it will go back to when your disability started. The SSDI process is a jumbled, hell-hole of a mess without an attorney. An attorney will vastly increase your odds of getting approved, and vastly shorten the approval process.

In terms of determining where to live, somewhere in the Southwest might get you more affordable housing and a better climate. You’re going to be treading a fine line with too much heat, and too many people, and no jobs, so you’ll want to spend some time with a house hunting site to see what might appeal. Parts of the West or Northwest might work as well, but the larger metro areas are generally priced out of reach for rents. The good news is that with the economy so strong right now, there are lots of jobs available that might work for you. You’ll find higher wages out here as well (darned, bleeding-heart liberals).

If you’re faced with homelessness before you can get the move sorted, I agree you should call a crisis line and talk to them. They normally can put you in touch with local area resources and may be able to help you find a spot.

One thought - you mentioned that you worked in a warehouse. Would it be anything that could translate to a Home Depot (or other box store) sales person or floor manager? Knowledge of parts and goods, but not doing heavy lifting in other words.

(There really are help wanted signs out all over the place out here in Northern Oregon. I don’t know what you’re looking for, but there’s a wide range. Rents aren’t that bad here either.)

Happy to help if I can. {{{hugs}}} and good thoughts for now.

Thank you Sunny, for all of your help. I have a lawyer, I am going through a place called Disability Justice. They are supposedly working on my appeal.

To tell the truth, I am not sure what kind of job I could find that doesn’t require me to stand/walk for extended amounts of time. Oregon sounds nice, but I am really am at a loss as to what I am physically able to do for work anymore. Thank you again for all the well thought-out advice you shared.

[LongTimeLurker]

@Sage_Rat

Apologies for bypassing the more important aspects of your post, but since the early 80s? :eek:

Was there a super early usenet group for the SDMB?

I am sorry Sage Rat. My memory is not the best anymore either. It may have been the nineties or even oughts when I first stumbled across SDMB. My dropping in has been sporadic to say the least.