(no subject)
Ooooh, I need a vacation! I’m in such a pissy mood today. I’m crabby at all my clients. Not all of them. Only the ones who are pissing me off and not taking care of their shit or of their kids. Most of the moms I work with are awesome, and while I feel like I say that pretty often, it’s tough to bitch then about the ones who don’t do anything, because I worry that it sends the wrong impression to people. I don’t want people to think “those damn welfare queens just live off the system and don’t do anything to better their lives.” But occasionally, I run into moms who fit that description more than I’d like to admit. That’s not even fair, because I hate with a passion the term “welfare queen.” But I’ve got some moms who, whether due to mental health or other circumstances, just aren’t pulling any of their own weight. I learned during my internship that case workers shouldn’t do more work than the client does, and I’m pissy and feeling that especially today.
The crab list includes:
K, who likely has bipolar disorder and borderline, who signed a lease with the Housing Authority for PERMANENT HOUSING six weeks ago, has not moved in or paid any rent. Wendy got her rent paid, but meanwhile, K hasn’t moved in. She called us Monday, knowing she had to be out of her current shelter-affiliated apartment on Friday (today), asking us for rent and moving help. I know this woman, and I would bet $923749283 that she hasn’t packed a single thing. I don’t want to jeopardize my relationship with my one volunteer who helps people move, because I know he’ll be crabby if he shows up and she’s not in the least bit ready. Plus, I’m pissed that she’s had six weeks to work on this moving issue, and is just now asking. Now she’s emailing every person she knows at social service agencies (all rungs up the ladder, too), asking for help. And I’m just not inclined to help someone who never asks for anything until she’s in a panic on the last day. Maybe I’m not one to talk. But I don’t screw up things this big- not my housing, which she puts in jeopardy time and time again. She’s got classic addict behavior (and not just concerning her drinking)- she’s an expert schmoozer and can get you to believe almost anything she says- until you realize that you know this woman and she’s full of shit. I think Wendy’s crabby that I didn’t call my volunteer to help her, and this sounds awful, but I don’t feel like she deserves it.
There’s also J, who doesn’t believe in doing anything parenting-related that takes any effort. She has custody of four of her ten kids, and I don’t think we’ll ever really get the full story on her history. Actually, she has four kids staying here with her, but I’m not sure she has custody of the oldest. But here he is anyway. Her 8-year-old is just starting second grade. At the end of last year, his teachers said that they wanted to put him in summer school because he didn’t know how to read really at all. She said that when she’d asked him all year if he had homework, he’d said no, and then she went and believed him. Then, since she thought she’d be moving over the summer, she didn’t put him in summer school, because he’d just be switching school districts in the fall. (What, so he wouldn’t need to read in Jefferson County schools?) She’s still here, and got him registered at a school closer to the shelter, but then didn’t take him on his first day (this past Monday). He’s been going since, at least. But her older son, the ninth-grader, told me Tuesday he didn’t have school that day when I saw him hanging around the house at 9 am. GOOD NEWS- I have a copy of the school calendar and there IS school! So he went. Wednesday he was still here at 9 am, his mom saying he overslept, but then he went. Thursday, yesterday, he left about 7:30- hooray! And then at 10:00 I get a voicemail from the school saying that he’s absent. Another call today. So instead of pretending that there’s no school, he’s graduated to pretending to go there, but then ditching. His mother is doing…. NOTHING. I’ve never seen her discipline her kids once, and I’m sure it’s not going to start now with this truancy thing. The school is six blocks down the street- walk your kid to school, if that’s what it takes.
Then there’s W, who while mostly awesome, is considering not going to her Housing Authority appointment because she might get a job that she hasn’t interviewed for yet and doesn’t know if she’ll be able to make the appointment. She’s working a temp job, paying market rent, and seriously needs stable, income-based housing. Also, we only had a couple spots to give out for these appointments, so if she skips it, it means we could have given it to someone else who needs it.
There’s also D, who is equally as lazy as J with her kids, only there are more intense consequences (health-related) for her kiddos in this case. But I’m too tired now to write her long story out.
Anyway, the moral is that it’s a good thing I’m going on vacation tomorrow. Minnesota will be good for me, and it’ll be really good to get out of the shelter for a while.
The crab list includes:
K, who likely has bipolar disorder and borderline, who signed a lease with the Housing Authority for PERMANENT HOUSING six weeks ago, has not moved in or paid any rent. Wendy got her rent paid, but meanwhile, K hasn’t moved in. She called us Monday, knowing she had to be out of her current shelter-affiliated apartment on Friday (today), asking us for rent and moving help. I know this woman, and I would bet $923749283 that she hasn’t packed a single thing. I don’t want to jeopardize my relationship with my one volunteer who helps people move, because I know he’ll be crabby if he shows up and she’s not in the least bit ready. Plus, I’m pissed that she’s had six weeks to work on this moving issue, and is just now asking. Now she’s emailing every person she knows at social service agencies (all rungs up the ladder, too), asking for help. And I’m just not inclined to help someone who never asks for anything until she’s in a panic on the last day. Maybe I’m not one to talk. But I don’t screw up things this big- not my housing, which she puts in jeopardy time and time again. She’s got classic addict behavior (and not just concerning her drinking)- she’s an expert schmoozer and can get you to believe almost anything she says- until you realize that you know this woman and she’s full of shit. I think Wendy’s crabby that I didn’t call my volunteer to help her, and this sounds awful, but I don’t feel like she deserves it.
There’s also J, who doesn’t believe in doing anything parenting-related that takes any effort. She has custody of four of her ten kids, and I don’t think we’ll ever really get the full story on her history. Actually, she has four kids staying here with her, but I’m not sure she has custody of the oldest. But here he is anyway. Her 8-year-old is just starting second grade. At the end of last year, his teachers said that they wanted to put him in summer school because he didn’t know how to read really at all. She said that when she’d asked him all year if he had homework, he’d said no, and then she went and believed him. Then, since she thought she’d be moving over the summer, she didn’t put him in summer school, because he’d just be switching school districts in the fall. (What, so he wouldn’t need to read in Jefferson County schools?) She’s still here, and got him registered at a school closer to the shelter, but then didn’t take him on his first day (this past Monday). He’s been going since, at least. But her older son, the ninth-grader, told me Tuesday he didn’t have school that day when I saw him hanging around the house at 9 am. GOOD NEWS- I have a copy of the school calendar and there IS school! So he went. Wednesday he was still here at 9 am, his mom saying he overslept, but then he went. Thursday, yesterday, he left about 7:30- hooray! And then at 10:00 I get a voicemail from the school saying that he’s absent. Another call today. So instead of pretending that there’s no school, he’s graduated to pretending to go there, but then ditching. His mother is doing…. NOTHING. I’ve never seen her discipline her kids once, and I’m sure it’s not going to start now with this truancy thing. The school is six blocks down the street- walk your kid to school, if that’s what it takes.
Then there’s W, who while mostly awesome, is considering not going to her Housing Authority appointment because she might get a job that she hasn’t interviewed for yet and doesn’t know if she’ll be able to make the appointment. She’s working a temp job, paying market rent, and seriously needs stable, income-based housing. Also, we only had a couple spots to give out for these appointments, so if she skips it, it means we could have given it to someone else who needs it.
There’s also D, who is equally as lazy as J with her kids, only there are more intense consequences (health-related) for her kiddos in this case. But I’m too tired now to write her long story out.
Anyway, the moral is that it’s a good thing I’m going on vacation tomorrow. Minnesota will be good for me, and it’ll be really good to get out of the shelter for a while.