Hi my name is Raina and I have been homeless for 4 years. Back in 2017 I left Hartford, CT to get away from an abusive relationship. I took the last money I had which was about $250 and bought a one way ticket to South Carolina. As I was waiting for the bus to come my abuser walked up to me. How he knew I was there was beyond me, as I hadn’t seen him in 3 months. I can only guess he had been watching me. Being the person I am I still felt sorry for him when he told me he was depressed and didn’t want to live. He asked if he could come with me. I told him that he could come as a friend and when we got to South Carolina he would have to figure out what he would do from there. Well we got to South Carolina and had to go into a men’s and women’s shelter because my money had run out. During our stay there he started getting abusive again. So I just up and left the shelter and went back to the bus station to decide what to do. While I was there I met a gentleman who was going into another part of South Carolina to check in to a drug rehab center. I told him my situation and he said I could ride with him and he would help me find another shelter. So I took a chance and went with him. He brought me to another town and the shelter he thought could help had no beds. So he requested I try the police dept. and go into a battered women’s shelter. I said ok and he dropped me off. The police drove me to a safe house and I stayed there for about a month. It was difficult and while I was there I had a nervous breakdown. Because of my mental state the women’s shelter would not let me back in upon being released from the hospital so back they sent me to the hospital. For the next 3 1/2 years I traveled from South Carolina to Savannah Georgia to Atlanta Georgia finally to Boston Massachusetts. During the 3 1/2 years I would try and find housing or shelter in whatever town I was in but it was neither safe nor permanent. I am now in Boston Mass and the last shelter I was in closed down. The picture above is Rosie’s Place a day shelter only for women where I have gone sometimes to eat, shower, and get clothing. I am asking for any donation to help me get off the streets while I wait for the staff at the day shelter to help place me in permanent housing. The donations will go for food, clothing, laundry, hygiene and getting my ID documents back as they were stolen from me while I was in the shelter.