<\/div>\n
Dad,<\/p>\n
At least that\u2019s what I\u2019ve called you the last few years. You\u2019ll probably be the only person I\u2019ll ever call dad, even though you were my foster dad. According to grandma, if my mom knows who my real dad is she\u2019s never said. She probably doesn\u2019t know. Grandma says mom was strung out most of the time around the time she got pregnant with me so who knows who my real dad is. I\u2019ll probably never know.<\/p>\n
Grandma says it\u2019s a wonder I ain\u2019t in prison or some institution. All the meth mom was using when she was pregnant with me shoulda fried my brain. Well, I didn\u2019t do great in school and spent a lot of time in the counselors office, but I\u2019ve managed to stay out of jail. So far…<\/p>\n
You told me I could go live with grandma or some other relative. That isn\u2019t happening. No one wants me or has space for me. Grandma thinks I should be able to find a job. I\u2019ve tried, but they tell me I don\u2019t have any experience and they\u2019re looking for people with experience. How much experience do you need to wipe off tables and take out the garbage?<\/p>\n
I think grandma\u2019s afraid she\u2019ll have to support me. She barely gets by on her Social Security check and her landlord is threatening to raise her rent. She says she can\u2019t pay more and doesn\u2019t know where she can find another place for what she can afford, so she can\u2019t have another mouth to feed and a big guy like me must eat a lot.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s this place for homeless and runaway kids where I can get a hot meal every night. They have showers and used clothes and a few other things. I got a backpack and I\u2019m hoping for a sleeping bag. There\u2019s a place I sleep up under a freeway bridge behind some bushes. It keeps me dry when it rains.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I was trying to sleep on the street, but it\u2019s too dangerous. I couldn\u2019t find anyone to hang with and you can\u2019t sleep on the street alone. You\u2019ll get kicked in the head when you\u2019re trying to sleep and they take your stuff. You can\u2019t get any sleep.<\/p>\n
A guy I know down there said there was a shooting on the other side of the street last Saturday. Ten cop cars showed up. They ran everyone off the block and took what you couldn\u2019t carry. The next night\u00a0there was a stabbing in the alley around the corner. Some guy died. More cops. This stuff doesn\u2019t even make the news. Like anyone cares when a homeless person gets murdered. Bad for the tourist business. Pretend it doesn\u2019t happen. We\u2019re not real people.<\/p>\n
I guess I understand. The foster kid checks you got for me stopped when I aged out of the system. You have other kids and your job doesn\u2019t pay much. You said it\u2019s time for me to make it on my own. So far that looks like dinner at the homeless kids place, sleeping under a bridge, and hoping I won\u2019t get stabbed. I\u2019m trying to follow up with several places that are supposed to help people like me, but they really don\u2019t have any place for me to live or work.<\/p>\n
So far, I\u2019m not using drugs. I don\u2019t have money and I\u2019m not selling my body or dealing for the privilege of getting messed up by drugs. You don\u2019t know what it\u2019s like down here. It\u2019s a lot more messed up than you know. There are a few people who care, but they don\u2019t have a place for me to get off the street. The system is totally messed up. Guess I\u2019m luckier than most. So far…<\/p>\n
Tony<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This is the third letter in the series by Sam Riviera about homeless teens. These letters are based on the lives of real people that Sam knows. He has their permission to share their story with you. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":40278,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2245],"tags":[1489,1659,2262,1333,1394],"class_list":{"0":"post-40267","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-redeeming-life","8":"tag-family","9":"tag-homeless","10":"tag-letters-to-dad","11":"tag-parenting","12":"tag-sam-riviera","13":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\n
So far, I'm not using drugs<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n