How Do You Keep Showing Up When You’re Running on Empty?

There's a kind of strength we don't talk about enough—the strength it takes to keep showing up for work when the odds are stacked against you.

Take Saheed Adebay Aare, for example. Every evening around 5 p.m., Saheed left the shelter where he was staying in New York City and began a long, exhausting commute to his job at an Amazon warehouse in Carteret, New Jersey. The trip took hours—buses, trains, and transfers across bridges and boroughs—all so he could clock in for a short, four-hour shift.

And he did all of it in a wheelchair!

Because many New York City Subway stations still don't have elevators, Saheed had to plan every commute around which stops were accessible. After finishing his shift in the early morning hours, he made the same journey in reverse, often returning to a shelter or finding a public space where he could charge his phone and rest before doing it all over again.

Sometimes we assume the obvious solution to homelessness is just getting a job. But too many people like Saheed are already working as hard as they can and still not making progress. He earned a paycheck, but not enough to afford rent. Like so many workers on the edge, he fought every day just to maintain a sliver of stability, battling exhaustion, red tape, and systems that quietly punish the people who are already running on empty.

Fatigue like this isn't rare; it's the daily reality for people who are both working and homeless. They're not missing shifts because they don't care, but because our economy doesn't make room for their humanity. And yet, people like Saheed keep showing up.

That's real strength.

For anyone without stable housing, and especially for those living with disabilities, every day demands extraordinary resilience. Imagine waking up in a crowded dorm-style shelter, finding whatever breakfast you can afford, navigating an inaccessible transit system, and still arriving at work ready to perform. 

Then there's the little things most of us take for granted: a checking account for direct deposit, an address for paperwork, a safe place to store important documents. Progress is expensive. And through it all, workers like Saheed are expected to stay polite, patient, and professional through exhaustion and absorb frustration from customers and coworkers alike.

So the next time you order coffee, check out at the grocery store, or receive a delivery, pause for a moment. The person serving you might be living in a shelter. They might have slept on a train. They might be fighting through pain, hunger, or anxiety just to make it through their shift.

It costs nothing to be kind. But for many of our neighbors, it costs everything just to show up.

At City Relief, we meet people like Saheed every day. They're doing everything right, but are still falling through the cracks. Through compassionate outreach and practical support, we help them navigate the maze of services, rebuild stability, and find hope again.

If you believe, like we do, that no one should have to fight this battle alone, stand with us. Give, volunteer, or share this message so that together we can build a safety net strong enough for everyone.

Compassion begins when we recognize that sometimes, simply showing up is the greatest act of courage.

With gratitude,

Josiah Haken

City Relief, CEO