“It happened again. I have to leave,” she told me in a panic.
Laura had called me several times that week. She was always in a panic because of the abusive partner she was living with. Things were getting progressively worse for Laura, but she had never before talked about leaving.
This time was different. Laura no longer felt safe.
She knew she would have to leave, yet there was nowhere to go. No family to turn to. No friends to crash with. Laura had been off the streets for over a year, and though she was glad to be indoors she felt like the streets would be safer than staying in her abusive relationship. Laura kept telling me she had to leave.
However, Laura was worried about her stuff – the processions she had collected throughout the year. She knew she couldn’t carry them all with her on the street, and had nowhere to store them. She asked if she could store some of her stuff in the art room. I agreed, and we planned to meet there later.
What I didn’t know, is that Laura did not own luggage, she had nothing to put her possessions in, no bags or boxes. So, she improvised. She fit as much as she could into a small laundry cart. Then, she looked for something else with wheels…..the vacuum cleaner. She attached a laundry hamper full of her stuff to the vacuum cleaner using packing tape. Once everything was packed and secured, she left the apartment and started walking to the art room.
I want you to think about how tired she must have felt dragging these heavy loads with her. How embarrassed she must have felt, as people looked at her drag the vacuum cleaner. Then imagine, walking with this baggage for over 2 hours. That’s how far her apartment is from the art room. And with no bus tickets or car, walking was her only option.
She arrived at the art room completely exhausted. We packed her stuff away and she thanked me. She said it was a relief knowing that her stuff would be safe.
She told me that one of the items was a stone memorial from the grave of her parents – her most precious procession.
It was heartbreaking to see Laura in such a state; still I was happy that if nothing else, she had the art room as a special space where she could store her prized processions. I felt honored she put her most valued possessions in my trust. When you have very little, those few things represent a whole lot; enough to make it worth a trip with vacuum in tow.
~Moira, OIM Staff