Gina - A 5150 Story

Gina is a 40-year-old woman currently experiencing homelessness. She grew up with what she described as a "decent childhood." Gina lived with her brother and her single mom. She shared that her house was like a safehouse for kids that didn't have a place to go, so there was always weed and alcohol in the house, especially when her mother began to drink regularly.

Gina worked throughout all of high school and moved out of the house at 16 with her boyfriend. She continued to work and met her now ex-husband in 2006. They dated for 9 months and were then married for 10 years until 2017. She had her first child with him at 26 and then had twins at 28. Her children are now 11 and 13.

Up until February 2020, Gina happily worked in the hotel industry. She shared that she had a great job at the front desk and that she made one on one contacts with clients, making her job quite enjoyable. However, she became extremely sick one month before the pandemic really hit. Gina shared that in March she was not completely let go from her job, but rather put into furlough which allowed her to file for disability and receive great benefits. Her three kids were doing at-home learning while she helped around the house. Gina shared that she began drinking excessively at this time simply because she was bored. She then shared that "a series of unfortunate events" led her to experience homelessness.

Gina began leaving her kids at home with her mom to visit the men that she was seeing at the time. She shared that she got into a serious car accident, but that she does not remember much because she had blacked out.

Continue reading Arielle Zappia's full article on Project Why's website