Hardship: none of my business or a problem?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

So, it’s been awhile since I’ve ever posted. I finished Pathophysiology with a B. Very hard class, but it was interesting.

In previous posts I might have mentioned I was on section 8 while doing pre-reqs. Just recently, I lost my section 8 support because I was considered making too much money as a CNA. Yes, I bought a white cargo van because if I got a room for rent, that would only inflate my responsibilities from nursing school and I have financial problems I’m trying to responsibly take care of. I’ve got no kids and no spouse responsibility, so I am, as Filipino nurses call me, a cowboy. I can pull it off.

Well, today I was told by maintenance at my facility that I have to move my vehicles out of the parking lot within 24 hours because of the owner of the facility. She’s Korean and stupid wealthy. She has a 10 bed mansion that she never stays at that she would never know you were there if you stayed according to an RN. The DON who has poor English speaking skills says I cannot be there when I’m not scheduled. Say something about it being against the law or something. It’s not against company policy because no one ever mentioned it during orientation. I respect the property, but apparently that isn’t enough. I went to my HR and she said, “I can ask the owner to see if you can pay her $100 a month in rent to park both vehicles here at the facility like she pays the church down the road for extra parking since she only listens to the sound of money”. I said ok. HR called me and said the owner said no.

Is it petty the owner doesn’t want me taking up two spots in the very back of a facility where I’m not parked at a red curb and I’m not parked in a handicapped spot and I’m not bothering or hurting anybody? The facility pays the church down the road $100 a month I guess for employees to park that I towed my daily driver car and cargo van to and Thursday I speak with a pastor about parking there and see what he says.

Im sure most responses on here will be very unsympathetic so I hope some will understand what I’m trying to do. I take the nursing entrance exam May 6th. I passed the HESI for UNLV last year but didn’t make the cutoff. So I changed schools and had to take Patho as a pre-req requirement.

Just to get an idea of what it’s like living in a van: I don’t make a mess living in a van, I shower at a gym down the road, I keep myself clean and presentable. People have told me the way I pull it off, I don’t even look like a van dweller. We have a locker room in a bathroom for employees in the back away from the nurses station where I keep dental hygiene stuff to brush my teeth and use the restroom if I need to. I keep all my waste contained in clean trash bags. Always. I never leave trash on the ground and I never dump liquids. I always use receptacles.

I’m trying to handle my problems like a responsible adult, yet I can’t. I thought buying a van would help me tackle my problems. Of any kind. Also, my van I recently bought has a temporary moving permit that expired because I had a check engine light come on. My other car, my daily driver, had a check engine light since last October but I never got around to diagnosing it because I didn’t know about financing for tows and engine diagnosis fees. Both vehicles have expired registration and automatically fail smog because of check engine light. I can’t move them very far or risk $1,000 fine by metro police.

My facility implies my car can be towed out of their hands by another tow company without saying the tow would give me a warning first. Isn’t that considered grand theft auto? What’s funny is they can see the temporary moving permit on the van windshield has an expiration date and they use that as an example against me, but the other car that has expired tags, they can’t tell.

If if you were high up in the food chain, would you have a problem with an employee who comes to work clean and decent, but lives in a vehicle due to financial problems? Showing up to work on time and clean?

My DON currently does not help nurses or anybody for that matter. The only thing she looks at is call lights when she slowly walks down the hall with her cankles and her iPhone in her hand with her hand leaned back as if she were lazily strolling through the park and doesn’t even answer the call lights. Just says in her thick Filipino voice while pointing at them, “answer the call lights”. The DON before her kept nurses and CNAs in line and even helped CNAs with their runs as if she were a CNA. I never got to work with her, but I’d love to be a fly on the wall to see what she was like.

1 hour ago, Beldar_the_Cenobite said:


There's no law to tell people what to do with their money, just like there's no law to tell people how to live. I'm actually shocked California can still criminalize vehicle dwelling even though the federal government recognizes it as a violation of the 8th Amendment: The Eighth Amendment (Amendment VIII) of the United States Constitution prohibits the federal, state, and local governments of the United States, or any other government, or any corporation, private enterprise, group, or individual, from imposing excessive bail, excessive fines, or cruel and unusual punishments, in any part of the US, on US property (i.e. a US embassy), or against any US citizen, or any resident of the US.

You've been told this umpteen times:

It's not criminal for you to live in your van. But you cannot just park it anywhere you want. Owners of private property have the right to forbid people from parking on their property. If you find a place that will allow you to park on their premises, then you are not in violation of the law.

The 8th Amendment doesn't give you the right to park your vehicle wherever you damn well please. Believe me, if someone parked their "van home" on my private property, it would be towed if the van owner wasn't compliant IMMEDIATELY.

It doesn't matter if the boss has a lot of parking spaces and your domicile only occupies one tiny little spot. If she doesn't want your van there when you are off the clock, you don't have the legal right to stay there. It's just that simple, whether you like it, or whether you don't. This would not qualify as "imposing excessive bail, excessive fines, or cruel and unusual punishments, in any part of the US, on US property (i.e. a US embassy), or against any US citizen, or any resident of the US" under the 8th Amendment.

Specializes in Education, FP, LNC, Forensics, ED, OB.

Duplicate topics merged for continuity.

Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.
55 minutes ago, Beldar_the_Cenobite said:

I guess I qualify for having a mental illness. I was tested by the VA to see if I have PTSD [when I was living in my Mazda]. I was screened and diagnosed for mild PTSD, but I'm sure it's a lot worse now.

Have you been evaluated by the VA for disability benefits? I am not sure how long you served or if your PTSD is service connected, but it might be worth a try. Your local VSO should be able to help you. My local VSO rep walked me through the disability application process and made it a lot easier/faster (but I had all my medical records and documentation prepared and organized, so he said I made his job easy too).

Specializes in Pediatrics, Pediatric Float, PICU, NICU.

Your sense of entitlement is not going to do you any favors in this profession, at all. Neither is your lack of awareness of your own bias and judgement.

Nobody gives a flying rat's tail if you live out of your van. The issue is you think you are entitled to stay, shower, and park on property that is not yours when you have clearly been told NO, regardless of the reason or whether it is the "nice" thing to do or not. That's not how it works.

5 hours ago, Beldar_the_Cenobite said:

How is that considered racist? At least I'm not calling her a slanty eyed gook. Pff. ?

That notion seems to follow this post and the previous one. There is no notion of racism. There is no intent to racism. The previous post didn't notify me of replies by email like I wanted it to, but a lot has happened since that post was posted so the replies on the previous post had to be viewed manually. This one just has to do with legality of wrongful termination (financial? or mental illness?). No one owes me anything and I'm not saying they should. I work as a CNA, I try to bring this facility more positive reviews because right now it has 1.5 out of 5 as well as a majority of others in my city. I pay my taxes, I file my taxes, I try to keep my vehicle in good repair, I don't dump waste on the ground, I brush my teeth like a normal person does, I do my laundry like a normal person does, where is there a free ride, but a parking spot in this? Just one measely little parking spot. I feed myself like a normal person, my hair is groomed and not Einstein-ish, my face is shaved and kept short and clean, you couldn't even tell I lived in a van. I choose to to do things as if I were an RN I want to be. I still pick myself up everyday and do what I need to do to live civily. Once again, where is the free ride in this? Out of everything I've said, I still do normal ADLs like everyone else.

There's no law to tell people what to do with their money, just like there's no law to tell people how to live. I'm actually shocked California can still criminalize vehicle dwelling even though the federal government recognizes it as a violation of the 8th Amendment: The Eighth Amendment (Amendment VIII) of the United States Constitution prohibits the federal, state, and local governments of the United States, or any other government, or any corporation, private enterprise, group, or individual, from imposing excessive bail, excessive fines, or cruel and unusual punishments, in any part of the US, on US property (i.e. a US embassy), or against any US citizen, or any resident of the US.

I don't expect anybody to give me anything. I'm more ashamed of accepting anything from anybody. If I graduated nursing school tomorrow, not only would I no longer work for my current employer, but I would not live in a van anymore.

"Why not get a place of your own or share a room?" Because I had a roommate in the military and he used and stole from me that was given to me prior to boot camp. The guy was a MMA fighter also and I swore to never have a roommate for any reason either because they're lazy asses and you can't hit em or shoot em, or they're professional combatants capable of killing with their limbs. Escalations I want no part of and won't help me get to my education graduation any sooner. Society wants people contained and confined with other people to make ends meet. Why? This is all common sense.

Get help.

Seriously.

Focus on your goal of graduating nursing school. In your current condition, it seems unlikely that you will meet that objective. You have a long road ahead of you, and a commendable goal of helping others. I hope you get yourself well enough to meet that goal Good luck.

Specializes in Psych, Addictions, SOL (Student of Life).
On 4/19/2019 at 6:33 AM, LovingLife123 said:

I guess I’m not understanding why you are so surprised that you can’t park your van that you live in on the parking lot where you work. You can’t do that.

You need to find a place where you can park legally. Private parking lots are not the place. You may have to go to a campground or something and pay a rental fee.

You are not even in nursing school yet. It’s another 2 years until graduation once you start. Do you have a membership to the gym you are showering at? I would sell the van and rent a room. I don’t see van living as sustainable for the next 2 years. How will you study with no light? You should he able to rent a room for fairly cheap and use the money you get from selling the van. Plus, you will have heat and it will be safer.

On 4/15/2019 at 7:58 PM, Beldar_the_Cenobite said:

If if you were high up in the food chain, would you have a problem with an employee who comes to work clean and decent, but lives in a vehicle due to financial problems? Showing up to work on time and clean?

If I were an employer and you showed up on time, clean fresh smelling and ready to work I could care less where you live or who you live with - none of my business - unless you make it my business.

That being said you make it my business if you choose to park your vehicle on my privately owned property and live in it. There a myriad legal/liability reasons why I would not want this happening on my property. So I would have to say no I would not allow this.

You can't park a non-operational vehicle in a public space. So yes you can be towed without notice. If private property is posted as in "No 24 hour parking" or "Parking for customer's only" you can be towed without notice.

Also you ask why you can't stay after work in an unused pt room to study. I have never worked anywhere in 30 years where employees were allowed to loiter on premises when they are not on clock. Again huge liability/legal risk for the employer.

My daddy who was the wisest and I might add most successful person I know (born poor died a millionaire) used to say "The world doesn't owe you a dam thing."

Please stop focusing on race of these people who oppress you. I've been screwed over by every color/race/financial status. Skin color and nationality have nothing to do with the quality of a person. In fact you seem so focused on these traits as a reason people oppress you. But again my daddy liked to say "No matter where you go there you are!" So get your van in working order, find a legal place to park and get on with your life.

Hppy

Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.
16 hours ago, Beldar_the_Cenobite said:

How is that considered racist? At least I'm not calling her a slanty eyed gook. Pff. ?

The exact epithet isn't the issue. But my mother-in-law is Korean, meaning that my husband is half Korean, my daughter is one quarter Korean, and you are 100% offensive. ? Any good will vanishes with this kind of behavior. Good luck.

Moderators?

If slanty eye gook didn't do it, is there a particular line you were looking for him to cross?

The OP has been pretty gently handled at this point, but this is no doubt going to get worse. I don't think one more "victimization" situation is going to help the OP.

Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

I agree. Closing this thread for review.

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