I'm a flight attendant for a major US airline, and I've been homeless for two years.

I'm currently sitting in my crew room typing this out before I go to sleep. I've got a 4 hour layover, and it's just long enough to get some real sleep. I'm a flight attendant for a major US airline and I've been homeless for going on 2 years. I was in a similar situation to the lady who is currently homeless out of Philidelphia, I couldn't afford to pay my rent. The income just isn't there, especially when you're on reserve and you're making under 17000 a year before taxes.<br><br>I'm currently crashing on a friends couch, I've got a storage unit with my belongings in it. I'm one of the lucky ones, I've got a support system. I don't have to worry about where I'm going to sleep tonight, or what I'm going to eat. I'm just waiting on a transfer to a base with a lower cost of living, and I know I won't be able to afford an apartment until then.<br><br>I don't know what to do, other than raise awareness. I know I'm not the only person in the company going through this struggle, I've met others like myself. I just want to tell my story and see what advice everyone has. I'm just lost, and the struggle is real.<br><br>EDIT: Wow, this is insane. Thank you all for your kindness, you don't know what it means for me. I'll try to answer as many questions as I can tonight when I get home. I'm still on my overnight and I need to get some rest before tomorrow.<br><br>EDIT 2: I'm home and trying to go through all the comments, but it's a bit overwhelming. I thought I'd answer a few questions.<br><br>1: I live in the base I am working out of, I commute to work. I will commute to my new base. I expect to take a small hit financially initially, but the cost of living is much lower and I should be able to get a one bedroom apartment for roughly half the cost of a 3 bedroom apartment at my current base.<br><br>2: As for the other flight attendants I've met in this situation, I've met one guy who is currently crashing at the crew room. (There are beds in some crew rooms that are for employees to sleep in between flights. As long as you aren't taking the last bed in the room, nobody will kick you out.) I met another flight attendant who was living in her car, I haven't heard from her in awhile but she was telling me her story when I first met her.<br><br>2: I'm expecting a transfer to a new base in late february, and I will be able to get a small one bedroom apartment. I know of other flight attendants at this base that are able to afford to live there on our wage.<br><br>3: A few words about our pay. We don't get paid until we're on the aircraft and the main cabin door is closed. We also don't get paid while we're on the ground. Say we're doing a round trip from NYC-LAX, if the flight is 5 hours, we're paid for 10 hours of flying, and we will have at least 4 hours on the ground that isn't paid. If delays occur, we're only paid for our legally allowed time on the ground (9 hours for single man crews), anything past that and we're not paid. As for our actual pay rate, I personally make 32.68$ an hour.<br><br>4: I personally haven't spoken to the company about my situation. I've seen what happens when people speak up, and I can't risk losing my job right now. I'm just crossing my fingers and hoping that things get better once I transfer to a cheaper base.<br><br>5: I will Pulitzer this for the awards. Thank you Reddit, you're all amazing people.<br><br>EDIT. I'm also blown away by all the PMs I've been getting with offers to help. I'm sitting here crying as I write this, because I'm so overwhelmed by everyone's generosity. I'm not sure how to respond to everyone individually, I'm going to try to go through all of them tonight, so bear with me and thank you again so much.