This source wished to use the alias Ruby Star to openly share details of her experience with homelessness.
Homeless in metro Denver
I arrived in the states from Romania at the age of 5. My father raised me. We lived in Buffalo, New York, until I was 13 years old. I am 45 now.
My mother gave me up and wanted my father to raise me instead. I shared something with him that he was not happy with, and he threw me out. It was over a boy ... my father was very religious as a Catholic.
(That’s when I started to experience homelessness for the first time.) I was not thinking of it being labeled as “homeless” since I was living with my best friend during the rest of my senior year in high school. I (had) always managed to have a place to stay, at a friend’s home or a boyfriend.
My first time to truly experience homelessness was in 2009 — that was when I arrived in Denver. I resided in Arvada, primarily. However, I would move around my sleeping areas based on where my employment was located. Homelessness is a dangerous situation. That feeling of security is no longer there — fighting to find a place to sleep, worrying where the next meal will be and feeling safe.
I am currently working at Centura Health as a health screener.
Seizing a future
I learned about Arapahoe Community College of Littleton when I was a student back in 2011, to obtain my state certification in phlebotomy. 2011 was my first time being a student.
I (became acquainted with) the nonprofit EEqual through Arapahoe Community College, which I applied to for scholarships. (EEqual works to provide greater educational access through scholarship to students experiencing poverty or homelessness.) EEqual loved my story, and they asked if I’d agree to doing a documentary regarding my current situation.
Coming to a calling
I have always wanted to get into the medical field. I had a dream few years back about myself walking down a long white hallway. I looked older. I remember wearing a lab coat and asking someone to pass the file to me. I arrived at a door and opened it, and there was a patient there. I sat on her bed and told her I will help her get through this. When I woke up, I thought about being a doctor. After doing research, I realized I prefer physician assistant — did not want to be in college longer than I had to based on my age.
I believe it was God’s way of telling me what my future holds for me. He told me that is my calling.
Conscious of interconnectedness
We all have a story to tell. We all struggle; be it small or large, it is still a struggle. How you treat someone will have an impact on their lives. You think we do not affect one another, but we do. It’s time to get out of the glass house of yours, take off the worldly glasses so that you can see what is truly happening around you. You believe your life is your own, but it is not. We are all living in everyone’s world, trying to live independently from one another. But it is not so.
Learn to be kind, be compassionate and not judgmental. Everything you do now, every thought (or) action you do now, does have a ripple effect to influence and affect someone else’s life. Remember why you are here ... do not allow the world to make you forget why you are here.
If you would like to suggest someone for My Name Is ..., or if you would like to be interviewed for the segment, contact Ellis Arnold at earnold@coloradocommunitymedia.com or 303-566-4109.