Rambling Vagabond Travelogue

 

 

Hello All,

This is a newer experimental offering exclusive here as content to my core blog site of 20 years here at Atrayo's Oracle via Google's Blogger service. I'm basically expanding the horizons of the content here to include other topics that may have human interest impacts. At least through my own personal lifetime lived out loud. 

The opinions here are my own and I will attempt to disclose my bias along the way for a greater depth of personal transparency to my global readers at Atrayo's Oracle. This column of content won't necessarily be strictly spiritual and/or of psychic Inspirational automatic writing. Of which I've practiced personally for over 30 year's time now as my devotions to God and the angelic heavens.

These writings are moreso my view finder personal filter of my first time experiences of the newly homeless here in South West Florida on the Gulf Coast penisula. A travelogue or public personal diary slash expose of the Saints and Sinners I encounter along the way of my Vagabond blues as the newly homeless here in the Sarasota, Bradenton, etc... regions I'm currently residing and/or traveling on my own. 

All the while looking for a furnished room to rent at my personal Social Security welfare budget of $500 US a month. I receive a little over $800 a month from Social Security but that's what I'm working with financially right now. 

Most of the websites of rooms to rent such as "Roommates.com" and "Roomies.com" cater to rooms at over the $800 US price point. Places such as "Padsplit.com" a trendy genetrifued website for room rentals cites the rent fees in a slick manner of a per weekly basis. Versus that of the more traditional monthly basis is basically rearranging the deck chairs on the Titantic being a bit misleading to old farts like myself. 

In this homeless column of my own you'll my moreso human informal stylized version I prefer as my native own writing  style. Versus the psychic angelic automatic writing version I have practiced spiritually for over 30 years time. 

My personal writing style tends to be informal, blunt, and at times witty in a dry manner for instance with very high warmth of emotional intelligence. I always aim at being Cosmopolitan from an inclusive perspective is what the heavenly angels taught me best. 

Salvation Army Bradenton, FL. Homeless Shelter Overnight Experience:

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This was my stay for this past Monday, February 9th within the men's dormitories of the homeless shelter. For non-Manatee county residents which can include those from neighboring city of Sarasota which includes me. Can stay for 3 free nights on a non-consecutive basis. 

Otherwise, for Manatee county residents such as for the principal city of Bradenton. Can stay up to 7 nights for Free. Here at the main command compound of the Salvation Army in Manatee county serving this community for over a century in time. 

Anything in the USA that lays claim to having served for over a century's time. Is sacrosanct Institutional as American Yankee Doodle Dandy goes. For an American nation of only a little over 2 centuries and counting in existence. 

The Salvation Army is America's first and perhaps last line of defense when it comes to poverty in America. Preceeding historical periods of the American Great Depression of the 1930s for instance. Going as far back as the Victorian era in the burgeoning United States of the late 19th century. 

I was told by a representative of Resurrection House (a Christian daycare for the homeless shelter from 8:30am to 1:30pm Weekdays only) which I visited here in Sarasota the identical day of Monday, February 9th. That each county version of the Salvation Army as a main hub of a command of a compound is like a franchised location. 

I find the one in Bradenton, Florida in it's architectural footprint to be tailored as family friendly. In constrast to the one in Downtown Sarasota as more formidable feeling more like a social welfare prison environment. 

The reason why I cite the Sarasota campus of the Salvation Army as prison like. Upon admission to the color scheme of the exterior and interior building walls in a dark charcoal browns, grays, and blacks. Not very aestically pleasing and/or welcoming to the general public.

Moreover entering the main intake building which I encountered on Tuesday, January 27th. Was a bull pen of a circular plexiglass prison styled command Office. With a switch for the speaker to be used by the staffer inside the plexiglass bubble to speak at the window. Ergo a draconian aestics and not a very friendly prison esque environment. 

In contrast the Salvation Army campus in Bradenton as the architecture goes has beige white stone block exteriors. The landscaping grounds look meticulously looked after. Almost as if stepping onto a Pavillion collegiate environment in contrast to Sarasota's campus. 

However, the night I spent on this past Monday, February 9th in the male dormitories overnight of the homeless shelter. Couldn't completely dispell the prison aestics at least for the mens sleeping quarters with metal bunk beds and artificial bedding mattresses and pillows that were actually comfortable. 

The men's public bathrooms also included shower stalls separated by shower curtains. The latrines were more industrial grade polished metal you would find in a prison however. 

The ones at the Salvation Army Bradenton campus were in drastic need of plumbing services. Nearly half of the wall latrines of the 6 or so present were out of order. The bathroom stalls with toliets about 3 of the 6 or so stalls were leaking water from the flushing levers onto the bathroom floors. 

It was a ungodly sight to behold so much water spread unevenly in the men's bathroom floor vicinity. Their water bill must be horrendous and certainly not very environmentally sustainable in practice. 

The population of fellow homeless men I encountered was a mixture of a handful of veterans, the mentally ill, criminal backgrounds, and a minor few would appear in dress as middle class like myself in various stages of normalcy. 

Basically at least from my 1st impressions never, ever look anyone in the eyes. Which I have a bad habit as a super empath. Keep your eyes focused ahead of you or to the floors informally. 

Don't get me wrong I was safe and never in any physical danger. But, the demoralizing environment didn't lend itself very well to a social gathering of adult men. The emotional and mental anguish of some of the homeless men seemed in my opinion as brokenhearted in my opinion as an psychic empath. 

I also have never seen so many men coughing from bronchitis and mucus in their respiratory tracts that night. Then the men I slept alongside with in Dormitory F. About nearly 8 of us and over half were coughing and choking on mucus and bronchitis. I wonder during the era of the Whooping Cough period in America of the early 20th century it felt similar? 

These men needed immediate triage by a medic in my opinion. Alas, nothing like that was present in this homeless shelter of a clinician being available. I spotted a fellow homeless man pulled out a generic bag of cough drops. By chewing the cough drop loathengens with a crushing sound under his teeth. As if that makeshift medicine would assail his coughing concerns as a stop gap measure. 

I found the 2 or 3 nightly Salvation Army volunteers to be caring in their own masculine bravado. The stodgy old man firm with an iron demeanor in the intake hallway office into the male Dormitory was curt but efficient. 

The nearby attendant with the overused brown heavy cotton faded blankets dispersed by the laundry room. Was another elderly gentlemen in his 50s as disabled utilizing a walker with wheels in front of him to get around. One of his eye's was disabled but the guise on his stern face betrayed his warm countenance. This gentleman volunteer seemed to have been a veteran in my opinion. 

Their as a young adult volunteer an asian young man perhaps philoppenio, if not south east asian. He was jovial with the aforementioned disabled veteran volunteer but there on hand with basic maintenance issues I reckon.

My experience that overnight on Monday, February 9th left me psychologically fried as a psychic empath. The depressive environments corrosive to the human soul over time. However, for some inane reason Sarasota county in contrast only offers cold weather homeless shelters that only dip below 40 degrees farneheit. 

Not ones open all year long as in Bradenton by the Salvation Army. After the free nights offered by newcomers there's an affordable $15 US stay for overnighters. However, not to be paid in cash, but in money orders or going to the business office earlier in day and paying by your bank card instead. 

The last statistic I heard was there is around 17 million Americans living in poverty out of a Nation of over 320 million citizens overall. Many of the newer poor came from the Covid-19 era of the pandemic. 

I'm sure Trumps America First economic policies will only increase these unfortunate numbers. Of the everwidening disadvantaged state of the poor in America as the forgotten under class.