Dorothy, Indeed.com is a great tool for finding all the job postings in an area (you can put in your zip code). You could try there as a job search site if you haven’t already found it.
In some areas the YWCA will rent rooms. Much cheaper than renting a place. Some times you just need a break, a hot shower and warm food. I will send some good energy your way.
Oh wow, thank you all for the help and resources. I’ll look through (and answer PMs. Phone has some trouble with those) in the AM when I can get to a real computer.
I guess I should apply for food stamps… I never did because I thought they should be left for those who really needed them. Not people like me who would be okay if only I weren’t so lazy and worthless and unable to keep my shit together. But I guess I should take what I can get at this point.
Tomorrow is taking advantage of resources day.
Good for you. Those resources were put there as a stepping stone to help people just like you get back to where you need to be in life. Don’t listen to people (even yourself) when they try to tell you’re no good just because things aren’t going so well for you right this minute. Most them don’t realize that not only does shit happen, it can happen to them one day. Don’t let them discourage you from doing whatever you can to get back on top of things. Someone already said it only takes a minute to make a message board post. With the phone you can even do it on the bus between job interviews. There’s nothing wrong with reaching out for emotional and informational support online. The internet is a great place to find things, but it helps to know what you’re looking for.
The library has outlets where you can charge the phone, as well free internet access and sometimes, knowledgeable staff. You’re not the first person in your position to come through there. They’ve probably helped a lot of folks figure out the best job hunting sites and best places to get help in your area. Ask them. The worst they can say is that they don’t know.
A lot of those don’t require people to be religious or to belong to a specific religion. The kitchen where I volunteered a few times in Miami belonged to the RCC Diocese but the only signs of that were the occasional sight of nuns and of a priest in “clergyman” (grey slacks, black shirt, high collar) and a cross tacked to a wall.
… if the only people applying for food stamps were those who “can keep their shit together”, guess what: nobody who applied would be eligible!
Back when the dinosaurs roamed the Earth, or more specifically, the year I dropped out of grad school, I was under the poverty line and eligible for stamps, but I didn’t know it: I thought that, being a foreigner, I wasn’t eligible. By the time I found out I would have been, I wasn’t: it was next year when I filed my income tax, from the people at IRS, who tried to give me the paperwork for it until I explained that I’d since gotten a 30K/yr job and was back to squirreling away like crazy, thanks. But given how low my savings had been by the time that first paycheck came, stamps would have been very, very welcome. I hope that you’ll be able to find your footing soon.
SurrenderDorothy, I’m not sure I can add much to the piles of helpful links folks have already lined up for you, but I wanted to tell you I’m sorry you’re stuck in a bad situation and I hope it turns around for you soon.
Hey, SurrenderDorothy, I just wanted to chime in with a “hang in there”. You’re not alone. We care about you and have our fingers crossed for you.
Do you have a mailing address? I understand that it can be very difficult for homeless people to land a job when they don’t have a physical address to point back to. Maybe a shelter can provide one for you, or maybe a friend or kind person in the area will let you pick up your mail there.
When you get one, let us know. I, for one, can put together a kick ass care package.
Hon, listen to me really closely… that’s it, step a little closer… ready?
YOU REALLY NEED THEM
Apply today if you haven’t already. Also, I don’t know how it works where you are, but in my county applying for food stamps opens the gateway for all sorts of other potential aid and resources.
The other thing: if you apply for them, get approved, and then find you no longer need them there is no penalty for not using the benefit. Think of it as a “just in case” measure if nothing else.
I’m curious about what food stamps will get you in the case of bringing groceries to a shelter. In the case of where my friend stays, they have a policy of no opened packages. A half-eaten candy bar will get tossed. Cheese wrapped in cling wrap gets tossed. A loaf of french bread gets tossed. A bag of apples gets tossed. But an unopened package of Twinkies, that they’ll let you keep!
Food stamps would be great for buying a day’s lunch, either to bring to a job site or - if allowed - nuke in the shelter’s microwave. One gets tired of a bologna sandwich every single day.
Food stamps will give you a little bit of a financial cushion - money you’re not spending on food is money you have available if you hop on the wrong bus (and so you need to pay an extra fare), or you need a new job-interview shirt because living on the street or in shelters has been hard on your old one, etc etc etc. With your level of poverty, even modest surprise expenses can be really hard to manage - you NEED to free up money for those expenses when and how you can.
So, yah. Broomstick is absolutely right - you should be applying for food stamps.
I agree with those suggesting food stamps. It’s sort of like people recovering from an injury who need to take pain medications. I know a lot of people who prefer to try to “tough it out” and get through without taking the meds, but if you do take the meds, it aids the healing process and makes your recovery go more quickly and smoothly.
Similarly, you should go ahead and take all of the aid that you qualify for right now. You are exactly the sort of person that this assistance is meant for. You’re experiencing a rough time and you need a little help for a while until you get back on your feet. When every penny counts, if someone offers you a handful of extra pennies, you take it! Someday you’ll be doing much better and then you can give back, in whatever way you see fit. But right now, take the help you need.
As another Doper who has been there and come back, yes, take advantage of those resources. It will get you back on your feet faster and you will be paying back into the system to help other people sooner.
I went through a patch like yours in my early '20s. Hit bottom, felt useless, was homeless for a while. Eventually got out and have been a tax-paying, volunteering useful member of society ever since. Cheers to you, and if you find yourself in Iowa and needing a hand, a place to crash, whatever, let me know.
Have you been to any churches? I found out about a family in need through my church and I and a few other guys helped. We helped them move to a cheaper home, got them some financial assistance for the short term, and now one of them has a job and they are saving money for the future. Granted, they won’t be buying a yacht tomorrow or spending three weeks in Hawaii, but it was a lot.
I filed for unemployment in VA in 2008 after being laid off, got a letter saying I’m eligible for X dollars a week, but I ended up never filing a claim for the actual money and was back working within two weeks. I called a few months later to handle any loose ends to see if I needed to explicitly close my account or something and they just said it’s fine.
The more liberal groups (such as Episcopalian and some Lutherans) may be more comfortable for you if you are not religious, or even if you are and don’t want to sit in a group to hear a canned presentation about accepting Jesus (which could be annoying even if you HAVE accepted Jesus, or if you have accepted Jesus but not on terms acceptable to that church)
I’ve volunteered at a local soup kitchen run by a RCC parish. There’s no “canned presentation”, no sermon, no prayer at all that I heard. Cross on the wall, that’s the extent of it.
StG
Knock that off. Stoppppit! 
<Ron White> It’s gonna be a good day, Tater." </Ron White>
I work at an Episcopalian food pantry here in portland almost every Saturday and Sunday. No speechifyin’, no lecture, and the qualifications are simple: If you can make it to our door, or send someone on your behalf to our door, and you are into the habit of eating food, we will give you food. Tell us you are homeless, and we will give you food that doesn’t require a kitchen.