On Oct. 29, I was startled by a loud knock on my door. Naturally, I looked through the peephole. I saw a man standing in the hallway. I called down to staff in the office, and there was no answer. Then, another knock on my door. So, I got scared and I called the police, telling them I needed them there. The lady on the other end was asking me a million questions while I thought my life was in danger. I hung up. I tried to call the staff again, but there was still no answer. The knocking on my door became persistent and I was getting more scared. So, I called the police again, gave my address, and told them if this man busted down my door, I was going to use my knife on him, and hung up. I tried calling the staff one more time, and they finally answered the phone and told me it was the paramedics from the fire department.
I opened my door and asked why they were knocking on my door. They said they weren’t knocking on my door, but it sure sounded like they were, and my walls were shaking. They were using something to break down my neighbor’s door. I found out later my neighbor had called for the paramedics. Once the paramedics got to her apartment, her door was locked, so they asked the staff member on duty to give them a spare key to open her door. The staff told the paramedics they don’t have a spare key. That’s a lie! They have spare keys to all the units in the building. Paramedics weren’t wrong! So now my neighbor has a busted door, and my nerves and blood pressure are trying to come down to 120/80 from 180/80.
Before this incident, on Monday night, the fire alarm went off in our building. The women and I waited for the fire department to come for 45 minutes! I asked a staff member on duty if he called the fire department. He had the audacity to say, “No!” and that the building alarm should alert the fire department. Well, it didn’t. So, I called the fire department and it came immediately. And to top it off, the staff person smelled smoke from the apartment! All he did was pull the fire alarm.
The incompetence among these staff members has got to stop immediately! Come on! It’s really ridiculous I and other women have to live among the incompetence of some of the staff at a supported housing program.
Just because all of us were once homeless, living in shelters or on the streets should not give anyone the right to mistreat or disrespect us! No! I am not grateful today for having a roof over my head. If I have to complain about the disrespect constantly, I may as well go back to either a shelter or a tent. No, I won’t have any peace of mind. I don’t have any peace of mind with a roof over my head, either!
The women in my building are individuals, and we don’t all have the same issues as when we became homeless. The only thing we have in common is that we were homeless at one point, and now have a key to a door to close off to the rest of the world — until a new day starts again.
Aida Peery is an artist/vendor with Street Sense Media.