Posted on August 18, 2015 by Colleen Long in Associated Press Associated Press, By Colleen Long When Karen finally decided to leave a husband who had been abusing her for years, she found out that fleeing was the easy part. She and her little boy spent the next three years homeless, in and out of shelters, because she couldn’t afford New York City rents. “I was desperate to get a place, any place. But it was just impossible,” said Karen, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition she be identified only by her first name because she fears for her child’s safety. “When I was in the shelters, there were so many people like me, who could not find a way to start a real life.”
