Poverty Is Not an Accident

Poverty Is Not an Accident
Nelson Mandela

Friday, April 29, 2011

homeless with dog

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sheriffs here; restraining order. must leave everything, get off property in a few minutes homeless

restraining order forced to leave everything now homeless, stranded
I'm at Moriarty Public Library. Trying to reach Robert Hunt, pastor of Bethel Church. Number not listed, but people trying to find out. Sheriffs very nice; drove me to 3 places. Now have a little pantry food. Have Weasel with me. Cats have food in trailer & can exit small door in back for water. Goats, chickens penned. Trailer hitch locked. one thing at a time.
sheriffs promise not to arrest me for hitch hiking or vagrancy.

Charging Cricket cell phone as I write. No money to put in it right now, but maybe pastor can help? Called ministry in Edgewood, recommended by client at food pantry, left message where I am.


 cats in trailer with access to small door to outside, with plenty of food. goats, chickens penned. At Moriarty Public library with suitcase of essentials, a little food and Weasel, my little dog.

No place to sleep tonight yet. Trying to contact Robert Hunt, a local minister, who offered temp. housing.

Please spread word among goat people. I have a paypal button on my domain http://rogiriverstone.com

I'm charging my Cricket phone, but have no money, so cannot load it to operate.
Officer Chris Garcia just came back, concerned for me. He's bringing my luggage carrier, as one wheel on my suitcase is broken and it must be dragged, rather than rolled. He's trying very hard to find out Robert Hunt's phone number. If he had $10 on him, he'd spot it to me, so I could load my Cricket phone. very nice.

No temp housing from pastor tonight. THere's a Ponderosa Motel in Moriarty, if someone wants to arrange a room for me for tonight.

Ponderosa Motel
1000 Route 66
Moriarty, NM 87035
(505) 832-4403

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Progress?

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I looked up membership lists for 2 goat societies today: pygmy and dairy. I emailed my flier and a blurb to anybody with an email address. and I put this ad on craigslist: http://albuquerque.craigslist.org/sha/2351536237.html there's a guy not far from here in Edgewood who responded. We're going to try to meet up on Saturday, after his finals.

I was up all night, researching. I was on the phone all day until about 4:45 (she should be home soon).

Spoke with the under sheriff, who says it's a civil matter and he won't just toss me off for trespassing or something. He says I've provided substantial evidence that we had a rental contract, even though I wasn't to pay rent until the 3rd of May. And he promises she can't just tow away my trailer, especially with me living in it. He was very respectful and sympathetic, considering he knows Cindi but not me. He understood what I told him about not asking her if we could "speak like adults," that that would just enrage her further.

Weasel has a giant tick on his back that's driving him nuts, so I have to go. More later.

Goat Lover Seeks Housing

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I just sent the following, flyer attached, to every goat lover with an email address online in New Mexico that I could find.


Hi, this is unusual, I know, but I'll ask. Do you have room on your property where I could just live in my house trailer? I'd need access to water, a bathroom, electricity and some way to hook up internet.

Otherwise, could I store my trailer there, and rent a room?

I have shelter for my animals.

Trailer is travel trailer, 30ftx maybe 7ft.

The main challenge is housing for my 3 small goats. The males are wethered, so no smells or aggression. I have 1 very small dog who hangs in the trailer. I also have 4 cats, but they prefer to be in the trailer or very close to it, outside. They are afraid of other people, so they won't bother you. All animals spayed/neutered except nanny goat.

If you include all utilities, plus free access to a bathroom (shared is fine), I can pay $350/month. If I need to pay my own internet, phone, etc., I'll ask to pay $250/month.

I have my own kitchen and can cook in here, too.

I'm very self sufficient. I don't play "space invaders" with housemates.

I'm quiet, stay to myself most of the time, work on the internet. I can provide references. My dependable income is limited to Social Security Disability Insurance, but rent always gets paid first. Other sources of income are freelance writing for periodicals, plus independent, community radio productions.

Goats: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raXz-Ox7BDI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkOuqcBB05E

Chicks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdwoNfIghA8

Substandard house: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivrDcwnsQLc

blog: http://livinginthehood.blogspot.com/

I have been actively seeking secure, affordable housing for 17 months. There is none in New Mexico http://alibi.com/news/34690/The-Cost-of-Living.html

I am responsible for my animals; they depend on me.

CraigsList ad

potential housing leads?

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draft email to Cindi: payments

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I have credit card receipts for the following purchases I made for you
Cigarettes $21
Gasoline: $25 (that is what you requested; tonight you said I "only" paid $21) I am awaiting my next statement to verify amount
Feed: $29, plus or minus a few cents

In total, I have paid you $75, plus or minus a few dollars and/or cents, in cash and purchases to compensate you for your gasoline.

In addition, I have performed 3 hours' labor, cleaning and preparing your house for a wedding reception, cleaning the bathroom to which I was assigned and washing your dishes (you left for 2 days, knowing I planned to wash dishes & do laundry, leaving both the dish washer an the sink full of dirty dishes. In addition, your son and his guests filled up the sink again), at a fee of $10/hr, which I volunteered, to thank you for your generosity and to pay my weight around the house until my monies arrive on the THIRD, not the second, of next month.

I replaced the gasoline in your truck the day I used it.

I also spent $15 on windshield wiper, ashtrays and presents for your truck.

in addition, I prepared 2 meals for your family at 2 hours' labor and $10 ingredients.

So, adding these additional items, I have compensated you an additional $75, plus or minus $5, as gifts to you.

I think, considering my short tenancy, I have been pulling my weight quite well.

In addition to all that, I spent half a day repairing your weak chicken coop roof.

I didn't complain about any of it, but you sure did.

it's below freezing in here

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Cindi told me to use an electrical outlet for my house trailer that is connected to her heaviest usage: furnace, washer, dryer, refrigerator, bathroom.

I told her I needed a dedicated outlet in  part of the house seldom used. she has 4 bedrooms full of junk with unused outlets, as well as a shed.

But she insisted I plug in to the highest usage breaker on the house. I lost power 3 times the night before easter, as she kept blow drying shrink wrap onto easter eggs. I also lost power, trying to warm coffee in the microwave the next morning, because she was both washing and drying clothes.

I plugged in my space heater tonight. i saw her bathroom light go on. Whatever she did broke the circuit again. I don't dare plug in the heater.

I have my electric blanket on. But it's really cold in here. 

3am

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3 am haven't slept afraid to sleep as Rachel calling 11:45 am; don't want to oversleep and miss call. think can plug MY phone into box outside, so can hear it. REALLY scared. not sure when waking up to begin posting on facebook, email that I'm still here. 

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

pitch to "This American Life"

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I don't think I'll survive this one. So, when I saw This American Life is looking for stories, I emailed them



Julie, I just move out of extremely substandard hoousing: no sewage, heat, running water, etc. I am now living in my travel trailer, behind a woman's home about 75 miles away. Tonight, after 1 week, she ordered me out and actually expects me to vacate the property by the 3rd of next month. I have no vehicle to tow the trailer and won't have any money until my $700/mo Social Security check comes in  on the 3rd. I also have 4 cats, a little dog, 23 baby chicks and 3 goats on her property. I believe she chose to rent to me in order to take away my animals, as I believe she is an animal hoarder.

Goats: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raXz-Ox7BDI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkOuqcBB05E

Chicks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdwoNfIghA8

Substandard house: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivrDcwnsQLc

blog: http://livinginthehood.blogspot.com/

I have a minidisc recorder & mic. I've produced documentaries in the past and have a PRX membership, as well as membership to AIR.

I would like to record a bit of my story, with lots of animal sounds, etc.

I have been actively seeking secure, affordable housing for 17 months. There is none in New Mexico http://alibi.com/news/34690/The-Cost-of-Living.html

I am responsible for my animals; they depend on me. I am also exhausted from being treated like a pariah and target for exploitation. I only found out tonight that she wants me out and is threatening to have my trailer towed to an impound lot, with everything I own in it, including several hundred dollars' groceries in the freezer.

I am making plans to end my life, if I cannot locate housing. I would give my entire check next month to a friend who helped me get the trailer, as well as its contents and the trailer itself.

I don't see any other options.


I maxed out my credit cards, which I was successfully paying off, and emptied my bank account in order to move into this place. With a trailer, animals and only $700/month income, my chances of finding housing are almost nil.

Would you be interested in this story?
 
Hi there This American Life friends and contributors:

It’s Ira Glass here.  We're doing this show next week - May 6th - that
we've been planning for months and are very excited about.  It's
unlike any show we've ever done.  The theme is simply:  "This Week."
Everything in the show will have happened in the previous seven days.
That'll include an international story or two, and things that are
happening in national news in DC and elsewhere.  But it'll also
include hyper-local: hopefully a bar fight, a first kiss.  In other
words: an approach to doing a “news” show in a narrative way,
reporting the week's news with great characters and stories and
hopefully a lot of feeling.  Fingers crossed on that anyway.  Not one
minute of tape has been recorded as I write this.

Here's where you fit in.

Do you know of anything especially interesting happening (to you or
anyone else) between Saturday April 30 and Friday May 6th?  Something
that might qualify as having a “big” week?  Some ideas we’ve thrown
around here: a Youth League soccer or school sports rivalry that'll
come to a big decisive game?  Someone doing something for the first
time?  Someone who might go into remission or come out of a coma or
get married or open a business or shut down their business?  Anyone
who'll get their tax check back from the government and get to spend
it?  A talent show or recital or school play?  Someone getting their
first drunk tattoo or braces put on or braces taken off?  Someone
trying as hard as they can in the last weeks of the semester not to
flunk out?

Or maybe there's an interesting local news story where you are that
might be approaching a turning point next week?

Obviously, the best stories - as always - would be ones where
something important is at stake for someone.  What we already have: a
beauty pageant, Wisconsin electoral news, a college student who's
graduating and moving back in with her parents.  That leaves a lot of
room for you.

Because we'll be turning these stories around so fast, if you're not
an experiened radio producer or reporter we most likely will pay you
for the idea and then either set up a quick phone interview with the
subject or figure out a way to get a producer to gather some tape.

And if nothing comes to mind as you read this right now, please keep
us in mind next week should you happen to fall in love for the first
time, decide suddenly to emigrate to Norway, find a thousand dollar
bill on the sidewalk or get called up from the minor leagues to the
majors.

Thanks!  I know the contributions we get from all of you will be an
important part of this show.

Ira Glass

Here's how "dangerous" I am to Cindi

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Cindi complains of chronic pain and has told me she has multiple prescriptions for such drugs as oxycodon, etc. When she returned the other night, she told me tonight, she was "high on morphine and don't remember driving home." She is also completely co-depnendent on her son, whose behavior this week indicates to me that he is an alcoholic and addicted to marijuana. And I mean addicted. Cindi herself told me he never goes without it.

She told me tonight she considers the following private message I sent to her via facebook to be "demanding." I found out what's wrong with the ethernet cable. It has broken outer insulation and appears to have been smashed or cut. She claims it was "working fine" before I got ahold of it. This is what I mean by paranoid. She also accused me of endangering her animals by not locking them up before we went, together, to the store the other day. I don't remember whether or not I locked them up, but am pretty certain I did, as I'm very afraid of the pack of coyotes behind her house. Even if I did NOT lock them up, she went with me and didn't lock them up, either.

Here's the message I sent that is so "demanding." This is a major reason why she feels we cannot live together and why she is afraid of me:

Cindi,

I have Pioneer Telephone long distance. They're asking me if I've been "slammed," as i have no phone service now. I need long distance for my job; I have to record telephone interviews. I'd also like to be able to call Rachel and another friend occasionally. Pioneer costs 2 1/2 cent per minute, so I can easily pay the bill.

The internet is not working properly. I need to upload audio files to a professionals' website and I need dependable speed to do that. I can't watch an hr. long television episode at present without frequent interruptions of up to 10 minutes per. So, I need to buy a new ethernet cable and investigate what else I need to maximize internet access to my pc.

But I can't have anything mailed her unless I have access to the mail box and key. Also, PayPal says
[deleted]
MORIARTY, NM 87035-5200
is not a valid address. I've got an email into them, but they don't respond often or reliably.

I can't do my job without access to reliable telephone, internet and postal mail and I really need your help to get things straightened out so I can get on with my life. You don't need the extra burden of having someone have to constantly depend on you for the simplest things and I don't need to feel stranded and helpless. So, let's get these minor details out of the way so I can start working again and earn my own income, please.

Thanks for your cooperation,

Rogi

It's over. I'm done

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You know how people say that what other people think about you shouldn't matter? Well, it does. Cindi is accusing me of stuff that doesn't even make sense.

Her son attacked me the other day over nothing, screaming and threatening me, while Cindi was out of town. He then called her and accused me of I don't know what.

She told me today I have to move out. I know nobody here, can't ask for help or rides or anything. I am stranded with very bad internet connection, no access to my mail -- and I just requested my new CREDIT CARDS be mailed here! -- and no long distance. The only phone that works more than 10 minutes without batteries dying is in her bedroom.

I will try to find housing, but I have no hope. Cindi sent me the following facebook messages, which I did not see until she told me about them just now. She SAYS I can have a bit more time, but won't say how much. She has connections with law enforcement and can really make a mess for me.

i just got off the phone with all the kids and they are very angry. I cannot live with this much angy around me..i hurt all the time and never treat people the way you have.. You cannot turn my peaceful life upside down like this..you must find somewhere else to live..i expect you to be gone by the time you get your check on the second. Im sorry this couldnt work. Now we r both in a mess.

She says, when I did not respond to the 1st msg, she sent the following
Rogi, Please know as much as I hate this happening. I am very serious. You need to find some where else to be. I will call a tow truck and have the trailor pulled out, and then you will have another expence to get it out of the tow yard. Please have your things gone by May 4th,2011 to avoid any further action..

She does not believe that I did not receive the messages. She also thinks my not speaking to her when she returned the other night is evidence of my guilt of lying to her about it. She returned announcing she had food poisoning and had spent the night in the emergency room, went into her bedroom and shut the door. Of course, I didn't speak to her; she was sick. I told her this afternoon that I'd noticed her door open this morning; had I known she'd sent the messages, of course, I would have said something.

She called Rachel, but I don't know anything about that.

I am giving Rachel next month's social security check, the house trailer and all its contents, if I cannot, which I doubt I can, secure housing. Cindi will get the animals, which is probably why she agreed to let me live here free until I could pay rent. She seems to be an animal hoarder and wanted mine

Please make appointments to telephone me on Cindi's land line during the day, except Friday, Saturday and Sunday, when Cindi is off work. She knows you will be calling. Her number is [deleted]. I would like  to say my good byes in person.

I sincerely appreciate your support. But I cannot keep living like a hunted animal and a pariah.

Sincerely,

Rogi 

Monday, April 11, 2011

videos on homelessness

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Uploaded by on Oct 28, 2009
http://www.ted.com Becky Blanton planned to live in her van for a year and see the country, but when depression set in and her freelance job ended, her camping trip turned into homelessness. In this intimate talk, she describes her experience of becoming one of America's working homeless.

TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, Bill Gates on malaria and mosquitoes, Pattie Maes on the "Sixth Sense" wearable tech, and "Lost" producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Closed captions and translated subtitles in a variety of languages are now available on TED.com, at http://www.ted.com/translate. Watch a highlight reel of the Top 10 TEDTalks at http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/top10




Uploaded by monkeyboxcomedy on May 11, 2008

Ty and the gang remake a cardboard box into... well, take a look and see the heartwarming story!

Visit us at http://www.TheMonkeyBox.com




Uploaded by rubydog189 on Mar 11, 2008

Those bloodsuckers...
Category:

Comedy






Uploaded by on Aug 3, 2010
Would you intervene if you saw someone abusing a homeless person?

Category:


Hunting the Homeless http://youtu.be/VWNQ5zbKw-Q

Sunday, April 10, 2011

The slum I'm stuck in now.

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This is the place I rented on the frontier prairies of New Mexico. Landlord hasn't collected rent or contacted me in 6 months.

I appear in court April 15, 2011 because he's evicting me for non-payment of rent. I have no address for him, even though that's required by law, so I can't even mail it. He's supposed to pick it up.

He disappears for months at a time. At least one of these months-long gaps, he was in jail. Last gap, he wanted $300 for 6 months he was gone. Now, he's suing me for $800 for five months?

This is how I live. No: sewage, running water, heat, air conditioning, water heater, toilet or bath.  I've had 6 showers, at neighbors' places, in 17 months. I poop in a paint bucket and bury it in the yard.

I've been actively seeking housing, all over the state, for 17 months. I have no car, which makes house hunting, let alone getting groceries, extremely complicated.

I think he needs $ for the property taxes and is desperate.

Won't return my messages to girlfriend's phone, of course. They used to hang up on me, pretend we had a bad connection, or speak Spanish to try to convince me, who used "redial," that I'd called the wrong number, when I'd call to ask about repairs, etc.


Friday, April 08, 2011

Micah Village is a scam, not a place to live

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Sam,

You're spooked because I did a background check on you after I visited your place. In fact, I've been waiting for Milly Sigmund to return from vacation, before I was going to contact you. She works Adult Protective Services in Socorro County, and if something was wrong with your place, she would know.

I did contact APS in Los Lunas. Your place has no red flags from APS. I also called the Better Business Bureau of New Mexico, and they don't have any reports against you, either.

I contacted a member of the board who has never actually seen the place.

And I called Socorro County Sheriff's Department, to try to ascertain whether or not I would be safe there.

It was not an "unreasonable demand" for me to politely ask for a 30 day notice; that's a standard rental agreement and common courtesy, especially given that I have no vehicle and moving off your place could not have been instantaneous, based on some whim of yours.

I found a blog post by a former resident that really concerned me. I'm not sure how reliable that resident is. But, if only 25% of what that person said was accurate, I had good reason to do a background check.

I am disabled and very low income. I cannot afford predators in my life.

After our afternoon together, you and your companion indicated that everything was just fine, no problems, and I could move in.

Suddenly, it's a board decision; I'm not appropriate to live in your community and everybody voted me out, with NO conversation with me, NO request for references or proof of income or criminal record, all of which would have proven, hands down, that I'm an excellent candidate to live in a cooperative community, truly dedicated to health and healing.

YOU volunteered that you wouldn't take my "whole check for the month," when we spoke. I thought that was a rather peculiar thing for you to have volunteered, at the time. Based on my research, even without conversation with Socorro APS, I have reason to believe that you attempted, or accomplished, just that, with at least 2 former residents.

And it's very interesting to me that I was told, categorically, the decision to not let me pay rent there was final, but, after I begged and told you I'd "do anything" to live there, suddenly, I should call you back in a couple of hours for another decision.

I think you want victims you can control. I won't let my possessions, career, animals and self be held in ransom to someone I believe cannot be trusted.

Your accusations and weird repetition of the phrase, "kid in a candy store" to describe my terror at potential eviction do not scan, under the circumstances. For a person who presumably has a background in counseling, particularly with people with behavioral health issues, this seems inappropriate. I have brain injuries and post traumatic stress, and I told you that the day we met. One of the worst triggers for my PTS is fear of homelessness. You could have been more accepting of the critical nature of my call and of my abject terror at my circumstances.

And I know you lied to me about Mary. You let me think you two were still involved in some intimate and working relationship. She lives in Albuquerque, works there and is going back to school. And she has a boyfriend.

You're a liar.

I'm not.

Too bad people can't just earn a living, instead of making a killing. I'm done with parasites.

I'll take my chances on homelessness. I'm nobody's bitch.