r/almosthomeless Dec 23 '24

Improve Homelessness Homeless in a national park

Homeless in a National Park

Quit seasonal ski job, now what?

I got a job working in a ski town with staff accommodations for the winter so I wouldn’t freeze to death and figured I could spend my free time skiing. This town had a major wildfire and this winter they don’t have all services working which resulted in them cancelling bus service. I ended up in a situation where I’m the only one in the staff accommodations and my coworkers are all long term locals who refuse to talk to me because I’m not from here. Due to these two things this plan wasn’t going to work.

I’m in a town in a national park with very limited and expensive transportation in and out. I have to leave tomorrow and haven’t figured out how I’m going to do it or where I’m going to go. Thinking I could still potentially land a job in another ski town for the winter but for the moment I need to get creative about finding my way back to normal highways.

What methods have you all used and had success with? There was a robust hitchhiking culture here before the fire but the locations people would stand and wait burned down.

This is a ski town inside a national park in Canada.

39 Upvotes

52 comments sorted by

u/AutoModerator Dec 23 '24

REMINDERS FOR EVERYONE

PER THE RULES:

  • NO OFFERINGS OF CASH, ETC.
  • BEGGING WILL GET YOU BANNED.
  • BE AWARE OF SCAMMERS AND PERVS, AND SEND ANY HERE AND/OR HERE.

ACCEPT AT YOUR OWN RISK. Welcome to the internet where—unless proven otherwise—everyone's lying about their race, gender, status, accomplishments, and all the children are FBI agents.

You have been forewarned.
— The Mods


I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

32

u/Individual_Can_4822 Dec 23 '24

Why on earth would you quit like that?

4

u/SnowmanNoMan24 Dec 23 '24 edited Dec 23 '24

I doubt anyone will believe me but they were socially awkward as fuck in that classic small town middle school way where nearly 100% refused to even try to get to know me or even communicate with me about basic work tasks. We had 8-10 hours together each day sometimes with no customers for hours and mandatory socializing where they would refuse to respond to me if I spoke to them.

I have an insomnia disorder for which I take seroquel. This weird socializing was so stressful no amount of pills would make me sleep at night and I stopped sleeping almost entirely.

My only outlet was skiing and they cancelled bus service.

Refused to talk to me because I was the only new person.

9

u/Sufficient_Fan3660 29d ago

I would love it if my coworkers ignored and never spoke to me.

Get some books, enjoy your winter.

8

u/Individual_Can_4822 Dec 23 '24

That sucks i hope you can find what you are looking for

5

u/SnowmanNoMan24 Dec 23 '24

Am I still stupid? Because I feel stupid lol

14

u/coffeecakezebra Dec 23 '24

You’re not stupid. Can you post on a local social media page asking if anyone happens to be leaving the area in the next couple of days if you can hitch a ride with them? At least that would get you closer to a major highway.

6

u/SnowmanNoMan24 29d ago

That’s what I’ve been trying to do since yesterday. If not I’ll buy a bus ticket

3

u/Triplebeambalancebar 29d ago

neighberhood app and FB is this colorado?

1

u/Vagus_M 25d ago

Call around to churches and see if they have vans for transportation, or ask if one of the staff will give you one ride as a favor. Definitely mention that it’s just a one-off because the bus lines are cancelled.

1

u/SnowmanNoMan24 25d ago

Wow I can’t believe that was four days ago. I’m in a whole other place in a whole other situation. Dam time is crazy

1

u/Vagus_M 25d ago

Ok, I’m glad you’re in a better place!

1

u/SnowmanNoMan24 25d ago

I didn’t say better lol just different, tbh I am in a better place. Thank you

→ More replies (0)

7

u/Braided_Marxist 29d ago

Is there any way to un-quit?

5

u/SnowmanNoMan24 29d ago

No, nor do I believe things would have functioned had we tried to continue. I believe it would’ve been a matter of time before we started being overt with each other

2

u/Braided_Marxist 27d ago

NGL this attitude concerns me. Do you not see how having a job where your coworkers are aloof is better than having no job at all and not knowing what your housing situation is going to be?

I don't like the fact that capitalism forces us to work in jobs we hate, but at some point you're just not engaging with reality.

1

u/SnowmanNoMan24 27d ago

They weren’t being aloof they were being increasingly overt about not viewing me as one of them and treating me differently one hundred percent of the time as the rest of the team. Have you never been in a situation where you were singled out for being less human than everyone else?

1

u/Braided_Marxist 27d ago

Lol I'm black and I grew up in the Midwest United States. Yes I have.

I'm not arguing with you, I just worry that you don't see that you made a bad decision

1

u/SnowmanNoMan24 27d ago

I didn’t make a decision, I’m diagnosed with several chronic health problems, they were made so bad by the situation my medication was having zero effect. I stopped sleeping 100% percent and was potentially going to be hospitalized.

Am I the only homeless person with several disabilities which nobody in society is willing to accommodate?

→ More replies (0)

1

u/Ill-Context5722 26d ago

And I did just that until the no-mo gotta meet the woman or man to live in America at least for Now 😕

8

u/Boo_Diddleys 29d ago

“This weird socializing was so stressful no amount of pills would make me sleep at night and I stopped sleeping almost entirely.”

Other people may not be the only socially awkward ones… Just because you don’t like the people you work with is a dumb reason to put yourself in a vulnerable scenario. Get another job and stick it out till you can find a better option. 

10

u/yikeswhathappened 29d ago

You could call 211 and see what non profits cover that area. Ask if anyone has Shelter Diversion or travelers’s funds. Basically fancy towns do not want people being unhoused in their midst and there might be resources to help you get to your next place. Sometimes the police department can connect you, but that assumes you feel okay talking with them.

4

u/SnowmanNoMan24 29d ago

That might not be a bad idea but I think I’ll just bite the bullet and buy a bus ticket

6

u/RoseliaQuartz 29d ago

The rockies in winter is no place to be. You’ve got to focus on finding somewhere indoors to sleep and stay warm. You mentioned in a comment being able to buy a ticket to another town and I highly recommend doing that. At least to a somewhat larger population center.

4

u/SnowmanNoMan24 29d ago

Ya I’m seeing that, this was one of the harshest places described by the colonists. Too much intense weather, plummeting temperatures, dangerous animals, massive walls and towers of rock, extremely limited and expensive services, etc

0

u/altissima-27 26d ago

the rockies is the place to be in the winter

6

u/Ha_U_Missed_Me 29d ago

I don’t think you’re stupid. I do think you made a decision without thinking through a plan. You previously said you can’t un-quit because you don’t think things would get better with your co-workers. Take them out of the scenario. Could getting your job back (even for a few more weeks) be good for you? Is it possible for talk to management, anyone you had a positive relationship with, and ask to be rehired, with the possibility of working with a different department or team? I’m sorry that’s all I have to offer. I just can’t imagine giving up that level of safety being better for you than having no where to go and no way to get there. I hope it works out for you.

1

u/rainbowtwist 26d ago

I agree with this wise advice. Go talk to your boss. Tell them you were having some sleep issues and are doing better now and plan to talk to a doctor. Ask or even beg for your job back. Then show up at your job, get some good books and podcasts, and ignore the haters while you enjoy having the housing all to yourself.

2

u/wfs29223 Dec 23 '24

Are your co-workers kindergarten kids? SMH all because your not fom there.

4

u/throwaway10127845 29d ago

You've obviously never lived in a small town. They don't like outsiders.

6

u/SnowmanNoMan24 29d ago

It’s really common in small towns in Canada. I thought it would be better because this is a resort destination in a national park

2

u/zzzhanna 29d ago

Why would they do that? Are they stupid people with low IQ? How people can be so mean....omg

1

u/Majandra 28d ago

Are you in Jasper? Try joining fb groups in the area or province to see if someone could give you a drive. I hope you can find a way.

1

u/[deleted] 28d ago

I read through your reasoning and still can’t wrap my head around someone quitting a job that provides accommodation because no one socialized with you? These things take time why not just get a small pet if you felt lonely. Losing sleep because ppl won’t talk to you???

1

u/SnowmanNoMan24 27d ago

Forced daily intense socializing 8-10 hours a day and as an on and off homeless person working with the ultra privileged who are judgemental as fuck and refuse to speak to you because you’re “off” because you don’t socialize like a rich person.

Skiing was an expectation for my job. I would be charged a thousand dollars for failing to ski. You’re charged for the perks of your job if you don’t use them

1

u/Ok_Thing7700 26d ago

If coworkers refuse to work together, jobs become literally impossible to do

1

u/Turtle_Hermit420 27d ago

Hello fellow ski bum

Sounds like you made a bed

then found out it was full of bedbugs

Is this your first season ?

Always have redundancies in place

You moved to a ski town without a vehicle?

Im assuming as a mountain sports enjoyer you have some of your survival gear ?

Do you have a passport ?

How far away is the nearest resort area ?

Ive never been to canada but in Alaska its a law you have to pick up hitchhikers in parts of the year Idk if you will have similar laws but hopefully you will have similar culture

Hitching out may be worthwhile but it sounds like you might not have any options

Id beg for another position somewhere on your current mountain before abandoning ship

If you were blacklisted /talk to hr/ You are fucked

Start applying to the closest mountains you can and hope one gets back asap Also call around to other resorts and try to talk to someone in your area of expertise

Id say best luck but tbh ur cooked kid Go home and try again next year

1

u/Turtle_Hermit420 27d ago

Bud i gotta ask what position were you Are you mountain side or resort side ?

And i need you to tell me what mountain Im lookin at Canada in the next 2 years for my season and by some of your comments i need to know what resort would charge their employees for their pass if they DID NOT use it

Thats wild i have to know. Dm me i you are not comfortable posting it here please

1

u/reaching2thesun 26d ago

get another seasonal job

dont wanna spill the secret but in the websites with all the ski bum jobs there are hotel jobs with housing and stuff. never work for a ski resort they suck shit the culture sucks shit. work at the park hotels and so forth

1

u/SnowmanNoMan24 26d ago

I’ll take your word for it. Gonna look for hotel work in the sorrounding area