The System Wasn’t Built for People Like Me — So I’m Building Something Different

I used to think I was the problem.

Couldn’t keep a job. Couldn’t keep housing. Couldn’t keep up with the expectations that came with being “rehabilitated,” “reintegrated,” or “ready to work.”

But after years of trying — and failing — to fit into systems that weren’t designed for people like me, I’ve come to a different conclusion:

The system is broken. And I’m done trying to survive inside it.

What Happens When You’re Unemployable?

There’s no box for that. No checkbox on an intake form. No category in the workforce development pipeline.

If you can’t work — not because you won’t, but because you genuinely can’t — the system treats you like a glitch. You’re shuffled between programs that assume you just need “training,” “motivation,” or “accountability.”

But what if you need none of those things? What if what you need is recognition — that your barriers are real, valid, and not fixable by a resume workshop?

Long-Term Homelessness Isn’t a Failure. It’s a Signal.

It signals that the safety net has holes. It signals that housing is conditional — not a right. It signals that we’ve built a society where productivity is the price of admission.

And if you can’t pay that price, you’re left outside.

I’ve lived outside. Not just physically, but socially, economically, and emotionally.

And I’ve learned that the hardest part isn’t the cold or the hunger — it’s the invisibility.

So What Now?

I’m not writing this to ask for pity. I’m writing this to ask for possibility.

What if we built systems that didn’t require employment as proof of worth?

What if housing came first — not last?

What if being “unemployable” wasn’t a dead end, but a different path?

I’m not waiting for those systems to appear. I’m building my own — through writing, advocacy, and truth-telling.

Because if the system wasn’t built for people like me, then maybe people like me need to build something better.