Relocation Jitters
From homelessness to resilience: A journey of second chances and self-discovery.
Happy Easter to those who are celebrating.
As I write this, I am sitting in a hotel after moving from Seattle to Boston. I am currently jobless and temporarily without stable housing, with very few friends able to help me out. I have unemployment benefits that will begin this week, along with a couple thousand dollars in the bank—but it won’t last long while staying in a hotel.
It didn’t occur to me until after I arrived that I would be moving just before Easter weekend. My senior dog passed away shortly before the move, adding to the difficulty.
I made this move because Massachusetts offers better public transportation, stronger protections for the transgender community, a larger Jewish community, and a stronger convergence of the industries I am trying to transition into. I also know that being local often leads to faster hiring. However, I may have overestimated my chances of securing something quickly—especially with the holiday weekend.
Now it’s Easter Sunday. I am alone in a hotel room, contemplating my next steps, and it occurs to me that I have been here before.
At 26, I came out to my parents as a trans woman and lost the support of friends and family. I became completely homeless, unable to find work, and struggling to survive. So I moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, and went to a homeless shelter. I went back and forth between living in a tent during the summer and staying at the shelter during the coldest winter months.
Eventually, I put myself through college and got back on my feet.
Those were the years I made my biggest impact. I established my community college’s LGBT resource center, helped found a 501(c)(3) nonprofit to support people experiencing homelessness, ran for political office, and became a founding and award-winning writer for a local paper.
It is in the forges of life that we discover what we are truly capable of.
I haven’t had to struggle with being jobless and without stable housing since then.
This time, I have that experience to draw from. I also bring teaching experience as a paraeducator, six years of federal security experience, and a cybersecurity certificate from Google.
However, the money I have will not last long—especially in a hotel like this—and I need connections to jobs that can hire quickly.
Fortunately, I used to know someone who was in this same area and experienced homelessness a few years ago. He was able to find resources near where my few friends now live, so I am beginning to focus my search there.
Tomorrow, I plan to visit Lawrence, Massachusetts, to explore job placement assistance and housing resources. I will also look for more affordable lodging—possibly a nearby motel—to stretch my funds and position myself closer to resources and the only two friends I have in the area.
Once I am more stable, I believe I will find something quickly. I just need to stay focused on the roadmap my past has already shown me and continue exploring my options.
I have done this before—and I am in a much stronger position now than I was then.
Time to make it shine.
