My neighor - but probably for not much longer
I has been mulling this over for hours.
For those of you who can't read my friends-locked LJ posts, this is something that has been brewing for a while. I made comments about it on Facebook and, to the lesser extent, Twitter, but I deliberately kept it very general and vague. I am still not prepared to reveal too many details in a public medium, but if I want people's advice, I have to give more than I have so far.
So lets put it like this. A friend of mine has been dealing with a number of issues. And, unfortunately, they've been getting from bad to worse over the past eight days. and now... if nothing else, she is at least going to get help for one of them, maybe two. But it does require her to go into a facility full-time for around 30 days, which, while good for her health, poses a problem. She can't look for work while there, she can't do job interviews, and her savings aren't nearly enough to pay this month's rent.
Her family wants her to move back home once she gets out of the aforementioned facility. I am not entirely convinced that is best for her, since, again, I must be sparse on details, but there's a reason why she wound up moving to my part of Chicago to begin with. Short-term, sure, I don't mind, but long-term, she is better off anywhere but there.
My initial thought was to try to raise money to at least keep the rent current for another month, and deal with the rest later. Another friend of hers suggested Airbnb-ing it, which I still feel has merit (and is more likely to bring in money than raising funds). either way, she wouldn't have a lease-breaking on her record, and she would have some place to return to.
On the other hand, breaking the lease has a certain elegant simplicity. There is the nagging question of what shape my friend will be in once she gets out. Raising the funds to ensure she has a place to come back to once she gets out wouldn't do any good if she isn't going to be able to take advantage of it. There is something to be said for the fact that staying with her family would give her time to regroup, find a job and eventually earn enough money to move the hell out.
Part of me wants to fight just because that's my first inclination. don't stop, don't slow down, keep going. I have the blood of women who survived wars and political repression, and the thought of not at least trying to do something to help her keep her apartment annoys me.
On the other hand, I have to be honest with myself. I don't like change, and I have a tendency to fight to keep things same even when it may not necessarily be the best course of action. there is time to fight, but there is also time when you must work with the hand that's been dealt you.
So... I don't know.
For those of you who can't read my friends-locked LJ posts, this is something that has been brewing for a while. I made comments about it on Facebook and, to the lesser extent, Twitter, but I deliberately kept it very general and vague. I am still not prepared to reveal too many details in a public medium, but if I want people's advice, I have to give more than I have so far.
So lets put it like this. A friend of mine has been dealing with a number of issues. And, unfortunately, they've been getting from bad to worse over the past eight days. and now... if nothing else, she is at least going to get help for one of them, maybe two. But it does require her to go into a facility full-time for around 30 days, which, while good for her health, poses a problem. She can't look for work while there, she can't do job interviews, and her savings aren't nearly enough to pay this month's rent.
Her family wants her to move back home once she gets out of the aforementioned facility. I am not entirely convinced that is best for her, since, again, I must be sparse on details, but there's a reason why she wound up moving to my part of Chicago to begin with. Short-term, sure, I don't mind, but long-term, she is better off anywhere but there.
My initial thought was to try to raise money to at least keep the rent current for another month, and deal with the rest later. Another friend of hers suggested Airbnb-ing it, which I still feel has merit (and is more likely to bring in money than raising funds). either way, she wouldn't have a lease-breaking on her record, and she would have some place to return to.
On the other hand, breaking the lease has a certain elegant simplicity. There is the nagging question of what shape my friend will be in once she gets out. Raising the funds to ensure she has a place to come back to once she gets out wouldn't do any good if she isn't going to be able to take advantage of it. There is something to be said for the fact that staying with her family would give her time to regroup, find a job and eventually earn enough money to move the hell out.
Part of me wants to fight just because that's my first inclination. don't stop, don't slow down, keep going. I have the blood of women who survived wars and political repression, and the thought of not at least trying to do something to help her keep her apartment annoys me.
On the other hand, I have to be honest with myself. I don't like change, and I have a tendency to fight to keep things same even when it may not necessarily be the best course of action. there is time to fight, but there is also time when you must work with the hand that's been dealt you.
So... I don't know.