Moving on up
Posted by Homeless in Slo Times on October 28, 2009
Sooner or later— I will move on up out of being homeless. That is something I think about each day. Whether that includes my living in my own home once again or not— depends on a set of variables, each very much out of my control. The irony of my permanent disability, treatment by the non-profit I worked for and am told is technically still my employer, (who specializes in vocational opportunities for people with physical disabilities) has not been lost on me. I wondered after my recent and hopefully last round of QME’s (Qualified Medical Examinations) if they know I’m still their employee? I don’t think so. Their State Fund caseworker had already told me, months before the QME that she hoped the examiner would give her a diagnosis she could accept this time.
When I was first disabled three years and two months ago, from a work-related injury—I was a newlywed of 1 year. I had just started a new job the summer of ’06 working with people with disabilities as a job coach at Achievement House. My first day, Judy (not her real name) called out my name when she heard my voice, “Evelyn, what are you doing here?” She is blind from birth and with acute cerebral palsy, wheelchair bound but, certainly, not socially challenged.
Instead of feeling uncomfortable in my new job, my old friends made me feel like it was old home week. I’d been their van and bus driver before my eyesight became my first physical challenge in ’05. My AH supervisor told me repeatedly that I should not be their friend, stating in no uncertain terms that I could not expect them to work sick make sure they would work everyday regardless of if they were sick, unless they respected me.
January of 2000, I earned my Class B-Commercial Driver license to drive para-transit and CCAT’s County Bus for Laidlaw Transit Company. I did have favorite riders and they worked at Acheivement House in varying occupations, sharing with me daily about the work they were so proud of.
My Run-About van would pick them up each morning at their group home after 7 am on my 1st shift— and on my 4th of 6 daily shifts— would take them home—often I’d take them to SLO on Saturdays, and much later take them home after their long day of shopping to hear all about it. I saw Judy and friends, most weeks— 6 days a week.
I used to love the small town feeling of SLO…running across people I’ve known for a long time, not so much in the past three years. I used to see people I knew when my youngest daughter was born and I was a stay-at-home daycare provider, with an infant-care license would still run into me and we’d exchange news about our now 30 something children. People who were small business owners from Atascadero and San Luis Obispo.
My day care was called Sunshine House, started in 1979 when I moved with her Dad from the valley to the Central Coast. We were expecting her the summer of 1979 when I hung out my shingle in the Laguna Lake area that Spring, awaiting her delivery. Even then, sitting at home waiting for my food service/bar-tending husband, wasn’t my style. I did the research on getting our first home built on his VA, did the paperwork, drew the rough sketch and visited every afternoon to see how it was progressing after our funding came through. I felt like I’d delivered two different infants that year.
We moved into our modest, custom-built home the fall of 1979, to Carmel Road in the Garden Farm area onto 4+ acres. The trees he and I planted are full grown trees now.
I’ve owned several homes in my life, remodeling throw away properties, was my specialty— designing and implementing the build-out was the fun part. I don’t have the same feelings about homeownership, not the heart, or the motivation. Maybe home ownership is a young person’s sport.
I dream now of RV’s and traveling someday. I know I must eventually accept semi-retirement but there are so many things I still want to accomplish before I’m unable to.
I think my dreams of moving on up are not unlike many other people my age— people who are homeless or not. Yes, I plan to move on up!
