I recently got hired for a new job which will hopefully turn my life around after admittedly many poor choices, and people taking advantage of my poor choices, which put me into the painful situation of being homeless.
My problem is simple on paper, but is something I just can't figure out a solution for, and now I'm almost out of time. I have onboarding tomorrow for my new job I was hired for, which is great. I have all my documentation, past the drug test, so I'll get to learn the ropes. After onboarding, I start fully on Tuesday next week. It's a full-time $22/hr position with commission, 5-days/week in retail sales. I am hoping to save enough to become self-sufficient and get my own place.
The issue is that I can't go to my onboarding day without getting cleaned up. For my interview I was assisted and was provided access to a place to shower, and interview clothing, but then was thrown back on the street after those few days last month, the system doesn't make sense as you can see. The job itself is equally uncaring, but I need to get out of my current situation quickly and no other job has called.
If I miss onboarding I lose the job, if I come in on the first day as I am now I will surely be let go on the spot due to smelling terrible. The shelters have people always ready to pounce and they always end up full making it impossible for me to get a shower ahead of time before my shift toorrow. I do some odd jobs for local business for meals and extra money so I am never around the shelter, so I haven't been able to get a room/shower for days, and had to compensate by spraying myself silly with Axe deodorant but that's not working much anymore.
I have to head-out by 7AM to get there by 8AM, I need to have access to a place that I can get too before 7AM and that's the big problem.
There aren't any other (free) places that will be available early morning (5:30-6:30AM) I can find that have access to showers. I got $25 today by helping out friendly small business owners with their trash, cleaning dishes, or other odd jobs but that's not enough to help me get a shower. Hotels would be the obvious solution but are $50-60 which is double what I have earned and that would leave me with nothing for food regardless. I wouldn't have time in the morning to go somewhere father because anywhere I can go that has a Gym (and none are 24hrs) is at least 2 hours away and don't open until 5am at the earliest. If I have to be at the new job by 7AM, and it takes two hours to get to those places further out, getting back in time would be impossible.
Quite simply I have no idea what to do. I use the local library computer in an attempt to do more research but the connection is so slow I don't make much progress. and my phone is also slow (using wifi). I haven't been able to find anything so far, and the onboarding is tomorrow morning.
I basically just need to be able to get cleaned up BEFORE heading out, I already have the clothes to wear. I just need access to one shower, so if anyone has any ideas or can help in anyway towards me being able to access a shower before my 7AM onboarding shift tomorrow, let me know because I have little time and have no idea what else to do, and being homeless, I have few available options.