As I sit to write this, I am exhausted and numb. I spent the past week dealing with the aftermath of being robbed – Twice. Yes, twice!
Some of my readers will understand what it’s like to experience being robbed at their house, vehicle, business, or storage unit – perhaps even mugged. I’ve known people whose entire livelihood was impacted by having their workplace robbed, entertainers with costumes and props stolen from their vehicles, and musicians with instruments and electronic equipment stolen from their studios or vehicles.
These crimes have a significant impact on the lives of their victims. I know I am not the only person who ever experienced this. But when you are the victim, it can feel like no one else has ever felt your pain and suffering.
Many people believe that most people are good by nature. But looking around this world, I find that hard to believe. Using only this example of being robbed, I see monstrous animals who broke into my storage unit and took things that meant everything to me. They ransacked and destroyed property, creating incredible work and expense for me in replacing broken bins and buying new, more robust locks.
Not only did they not care who they hurt or how badly, but they returned a few days later and did it again!
These heartless, soulless animals have hurt me in a way I will never get over. They’ve created a state of mind where I fear returning to find another lock missing. My health, which is already fragile, is deeply impacted by the super-high stress levels. I’ve felt sick and shaky since this ordeal began.
Of course, many people think storage is a bad idea in the first place.
Those people are usually housed and have a basement or attic or large enough closets. They cannot understand someone losing their home and wanting to salvage their lives as much as possible.
Storage is hope. The hope is that one day, before long, your homelessness will be resolved, and you can move your belongings into your new home and continue your life. At the very least, it’s a place to go and spend time with your comforting and familiar belongings.
For some people, storage is a place to spend time alone, possibly dozing off inside or taking a mist-bottle shower. Regardless of the reasons, keeping your things in storage is an individual choice.
I’ve moved so many times in my life that it’s ridiculous. I’ve never known lasting stability because of my health issues and circumstances.
For the past 25 years, my storage place has been my one stable thing. No matter where I ended up, I could keep a lot of my stuff in storage and know it was there and safe. For 25 years, it was safe … until now.
People asked me about camera footage, but there was none — no cameras in operation. I thought there were. I was wrong. So now, items precious to me are gone. They most likely will never be retrieved.
The police cannot easily find these evil and despicable swine if they have nothing to go on. Nevertheless, I am making up an inventory of everything taken, and the more I do, the sicker I feel.
If I were not homeless, all my belongings would be with me in a home. I realize that homes are broken into as well. In the end, any home can be broken into, but you can secure a home more than a storage unit in some ways.
My storage unit isn’t in a facility with a gate that you must type a code into to gain entry. Between that and no cameras, there was no security, yet my inadequate padlocks were fine for a quarter of a century. With a house, you can install multiple strong locks and have a more comprehensive camera and alarm system.
For many years, I was grateful that the newer storage facility owners did not raise my rent. I have a lot of space for under $200 a month, which is unheard of. Now, I face a massive challenge. I have to think about moving to a more secure place. However, higher security comes at a price.
Some might say I should rent a room instead of storage, but that is impossible.
First, most room-for-rent situations in this area charge almost as much as I get in disability in a month. I get less than $900, and rooms for rent are averaging around $800, so you see why it’s a ridiculous idea.
Also, people don’t want to rent rooms in their homes to strangers, much less homeless strangers. So even if it was affordable, these situations are nearly always transient. You have to move as soon as they want their room back.
It is far less stressful for me to stay with a friend or in my van and keep my belongings in storage.
It’s the cheapest option. People also don’t realize that I am physically disabled. I cannot do the backbreaking labor of moving heavy boxes around all the time.
I spent many days working four to six hours trying to move, sort, and organize after the unit was ransacked. Bins were thrown across the unit, and papers ended up everywhere. Some pictures have fallen out of albums and boxes. It’s unbelievable, and I have no one who can help me.
Right now, I am working on sorting, repacking, reorganizing, and trying to scale down what I keep (yet again). When I lost my home in 2017, I had already given away, sold, or thrown out a staggering amount of stuff. I gave away tons of books, clothes, and furniture. Now I face having to get rid of even more stuff. Assuming I move to another facility, I won’t be able to afford anything near the space I have now.
Homeless people are among the most vulnerable in society. Certainly, many disabled and chronically ill people are as well. I am both.
When these vile and malevolent criminals targeted me, they surely didn’t know they were robbing a homeless, disabled, autistic person. But if they did know, they undoubtedly would not care.
What they took was my peace of mind, as well as precious items that I managed to keep until now, since childhood. Things that were given to me by my grandparents, for example. Things I cannot replace. All I can feel now is numb, empty, and drained of life.
If you would like to help Loki, please visit her gofundme page.
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