Devotee Child Ends Up In Homeless Shelter

[suchandra]

Devotee child ends up in homeless shelter?

 

It is amazing that so many gurus have huge houses while so many of their victims have no shelter at all.

Homeless Shelter in Vancouver Canada

... In 2006, Pedersen shared a basement suite with friends on Vancouver's Commercial Drive. He had been working for three years as a dishwasher at a Denny's Restaurant, making about $250 a week before deductions and was beginning to pick up shifts at a Swiss Chalet. Far from rich, he was getting by. He just turned 26.

Pedersen was the youngest of four children of a Hare Krishna family. His mother had schizophrenia and his father was declared an unfit parent when Pedersen was only eight years old. He lived in foster care until be was 19. He also has Asperger's syndrome, a mild form of autism that gives him an unusual, halting rhythm when he talks. His hands are chapped from years of kitchen work.

"I'm not the smartest person, but I try to dress like I am," laughed Pedersen, who is the only person in the shelter today wearing a blazer jacket. "Everyone has issues whether they are in a shelter or not, but I've supported myself for the seven years of my adult life."

But Pedersen's attempt to improve his income resulted in his termination from Denny's when his hours at Swiss Chalet came into conflict with his established work schedule. He was later terminated by Swiss Chalet just before his three-month probation was up. His problems compounded when his landlord decided to renovate the basement suite he was living in, forcing him to relocate to a rooming hotel on the edge of Gastown. The $420 a month rent was barely manageable, but the bedbugs were intolerable, he says.

"I pride myself on keeping my place clean but the problem with the building couldn't be solved," he said. When Pedersen wouldn't pay rent to sleep on a mattress full of insects, his tenancy ended. Pedersen lived at the North Shore shelter for nearly two months before taking up residence temporarily at his brother's home. He is now living on his own again.

What shocked Pedersen was how a little bad luck took his legs out so completely. No job, no money, no home. A couple of missed paycheques and disaster. Pedersen thinks most people have little more security than he does.

"I had a few problems, but they all came at the same time," he said.

 

rshore@png.canwest.com

[AncientMariner]

That is messed up no doubt about it. I can empathize on some level with this gentleman because I washed dishes full time for 2 years and its not fun obviously.