Storytime with Chazark

Update : I edited the blog by starting with the main tips and advice first, and I saved my story for last for readers who want to keep reading. I bet you've heard of tons of eviction prevention resources all over the internet and through word of mouth, especially during your eviction proceedings, like Emergency Eviction Legal Services, the Tucson Pima Eviction Prevention Program, housing resources, or similar. But none of these resources tell you how to beat eviction with survival techniques and strategies, which I'll discuss below. These strategies are based on my experience. I want to emphasize that my strategies may not be the right fit for you. Some of them may work well for a single man in his 20s or 30s with no kids, compared to an elderly man in his 80s, or they may not be ideal for young women, whether they have kids or not, facing eviction. Please consider my advice as a testimony rather than a 'What you need to do' lecture. Here’s my advice for evi...

I'm Black and Deaf. I shouldn't say "never," but I hardly recall any moment where I was turned away solely because of my race. However, I was often turned away after people found out that I can't hear or speak. Many feel more comfortable working with those who share their language. Here’s my thought: You're a Black man who can hear and talk. Someone tells you to stop from behind your back—you hear the voice but don’t stop. Now, I’m Deaf, so if someone tells me to stop from behind my back, I won’t hear them. Do they treat me badly because of my race, or because they assume I ignored them? If I were hearing, would I have stopped or ignored them? I don’t get it. I'm frustrated with these situations. Even white people with extreme views often dismiss my questions by calling me a "coon" or "Uncle Tom." I fully support fighting against discrimination and ending racial abuse, but I think for many people deeply involved in social ju...

noun. a cultural concept of manliness that glorifies stoicism, strength, virility, and dominance, and that is socially maladaptive or harmful to mental health. - Dictionary.com  noun. harmful beliefs about the way men should behave. — Oxford Dictionary. Happy Sunday! I want to take a moment to write down my thoughts about toxic masculinity before my son and I begin our day. It’s important to me to process and reflect on this topic, and I hope that by sharing my thoughts, I can help create a more inclusive and compassionate world for him and all men in his generation to grow up in. As I grew in maturity, I established freedom from the toxic masculinity culture I was raised in, and I hope to inspire other men who desire to better themselves. I’m not sure how I came to realize I possessed toxic masculinity, but I think my self-awareness has evolved over time. This growth was especially evident during my four-year relationship with my former partner, my son’s mom, as I had ...