What was it like on your first night as a homeless person?

I was about nine years old and my mum said we were going on a camping trip.

I didn't really suspect anything as it was summertime and we went camping a lot when I was younger.

Although I did wonder why we were packing so much stuff.

After a few weeks of camping, I started to complain, but my mum insisted that it was good for us to get in touch

with nature, stuff like that. Then school started and we were still camping, and we kept camping

for another six months. When we finally got a house, my mum cried with joy, and we don't

camp anymore. To me, that reads as your mother trying to protect you as best as she could

and keep things positive for you, staying strong in the face of terrible circumstances. Good for her.

I remember being really hungry and acting weird because of the low blood sugar, almost delirious.

This was when I made a futile attempt to run away from an awful home situation with no money.

I ended up going back because of that.

I was 13 when my parents kicked me out and told me that they no longer wanted anything to do with me.

I was terrified to visit a shelter because I'd known some foster kids and the whole system scared me,

plus I wanted to continue going to the same school. I didn't want to lose my friends either.

The scariest part at that age

was really just finding out what I was hoping to eat. There had been a dilapidated trailer just minutes

down the road from my dad's place, so I stayed in that. I don't think it really hit me until I had

to choose one night between food and blankets, because the temperature was expected to drop down into the mid-30s, and I only had one somewhat thin blanket at that

point. The next day I put on my best attire, which was nothing impressive, and asked for a job

at Long John Silver's. I lied and told them I was 15, and I worked five days a week rushing over

after school. I ate more unhealthy than I have since to save money for some form of shelter,

...