There's a house in the town to the east. It provides temporary housing for people who are between here and there.
Teenagers who can't be at home, but don't have another place to go. Moms, with kids, who fell behind on the electric bill, got cut off and can't get the power turned back on. People just out of the hospital, waiting for an apartment to come available, or who are waiting for a court date to come around.
I've got a friend living in the House right now. She'd spent some time recently getting help with some stuff and she's got to kill a few weeks before she gets the keys to her apartment. The House is, in some respects, a really good place for her. Mostly because of the whole walls and a roof thing.
Other than that...
The residents, about a dozen people ranging in age from 17 to 50-something, have to be up at 7:00. They have from 7 'til 9 to take a shower (there's only one) and have breakfast. They can't leave their rooms unless they're fully dressed. No pyjama pants or dressing gowns. No showers the rest of the day.
Chores must be completed by 9:30 after which time they've got permission to leave the house.
Lunch is available, if you want it, but you have to go to the office and ask for bread and meat to make a sandwich.
Coffee is available through the day, but you have to go to the office and ask for cream and sugar. Coffee must be drunk at a designated table. If you step outside to have a smoke with coffee still in your cup, you have to leave it on the table, go to the office and ask to not have your coffee taken away because you're not done with it yet.
Supper is served at 5. Last week, the menu was as follows:
Mon - Ham and rice.
Tues - Ham and rice.
Wed - Ham and rice.
Thurs - Ham and rice.
Fri - Hot dogs.
They might get potatoes once this week, because every second week there's a meal provided by a local church.
Everyone is allowed two eggs per week.
There's an evening snack which consists of granola bars.
Food is not allowed in the rooms, including coffee. Residents are not allowed to bring in food. Chocolate bars, bottled water, chips, fruit - all verboten. Every bag brought into the House is searched.
My friend, who loves to bake, took the bus to the grocery store the other day and bought a bunch of supplies, including eggs, so she could (having got permission) bake a big batch of chocolate chip muffins. They disappeared rather quickly.
There's one TV in the house. It's turned on at 6 pm. Until 8 pm, it's kids' programs only. After that, the adults can fight over what to watch.
There's one computer, no internet, with only the games that come with the OS.
No puzzles, no books, no nothing.
No drugs, no booze. Officially.
If they've gone out for the day, they have to be back in the House by 8 pm. In their rooms with lights out at 10.
If someone breaks a rule, the manager punishes the infraction by taking away privileges. From everyone.
"Privileges?" I hear you ask.
One time last week it meant no snack time. Not even for the little kids.
One day it meant no coffee for anyone in the house. No coffee at all for anybody because somebody broke a rule. No coffee for the kid who had to get up at 4 am so he could ride his bike two towns to the east to be on time for a court date because the House won't arrange rides.
Another time it meant nobody could go for a smoke in the back yard. Instead they had to walk down the block and smoke in front of someone else's house.
You're shaking your head, now aren't you? You're wondering how... why... what the hell?
Who lives like this?
This all seems so backwards. You've got a house full of people who you're trying to help get on their feet, and you treat them like kindergartners?
It always amazes me that organizations can be run by people who seem to despise the ones they're supposed to be serving.
But we do. We don't seem to be able to find the difference between a hug and a headlock. A shoulder to lean on and a body check.
If you screwed up once, by howdy, I'm not going to let you screw up again. As long as you're under my roof...
But they're not always under that roof. They go out all day.
My friend hied herself off to the Sub shop one afternoon last week. Ordered the biggest, fattest roast beef sub they had, sat at a window table and reveled in her lovely ham-free extravaganza. Went back to the House in time for supper and said, "No thanks. I'm not hungry."
r
Teenagers who can't be at home, but don't have another place to go. Moms, with kids, who fell behind on the electric bill, got cut off and can't get the power turned back on. People just out of the hospital, waiting for an apartment to come available, or who are waiting for a court date to come around.
I've got a friend living in the House right now. She'd spent some time recently getting help with some stuff and she's got to kill a few weeks before she gets the keys to her apartment. The House is, in some respects, a really good place for her. Mostly because of the whole walls and a roof thing.
Other than that...
The residents, about a dozen people ranging in age from 17 to 50-something, have to be up at 7:00. They have from 7 'til 9 to take a shower (there's only one) and have breakfast. They can't leave their rooms unless they're fully dressed. No pyjama pants or dressing gowns. No showers the rest of the day.
Chores must be completed by 9:30 after which time they've got permission to leave the house.
Lunch is available, if you want it, but you have to go to the office and ask for bread and meat to make a sandwich.
Coffee is available through the day, but you have to go to the office and ask for cream and sugar. Coffee must be drunk at a designated table. If you step outside to have a smoke with coffee still in your cup, you have to leave it on the table, go to the office and ask to not have your coffee taken away because you're not done with it yet.
Supper is served at 5. Last week, the menu was as follows:
Mon - Ham and rice.
Tues - Ham and rice.
Wed - Ham and rice.
Thurs - Ham and rice.
Fri - Hot dogs.
They might get potatoes once this week, because every second week there's a meal provided by a local church.
Everyone is allowed two eggs per week.
There's an evening snack which consists of granola bars.
Food is not allowed in the rooms, including coffee. Residents are not allowed to bring in food. Chocolate bars, bottled water, chips, fruit - all verboten. Every bag brought into the House is searched.
My friend, who loves to bake, took the bus to the grocery store the other day and bought a bunch of supplies, including eggs, so she could (having got permission) bake a big batch of chocolate chip muffins. They disappeared rather quickly.
There's one TV in the house. It's turned on at 6 pm. Until 8 pm, it's kids' programs only. After that, the adults can fight over what to watch.
There's one computer, no internet, with only the games that come with the OS.
No puzzles, no books, no nothing.
No drugs, no booze. Officially.
If they've gone out for the day, they have to be back in the House by 8 pm. In their rooms with lights out at 10.
If someone breaks a rule, the manager punishes the infraction by taking away privileges. From everyone.
"Privileges?" I hear you ask.
One time last week it meant no snack time. Not even for the little kids.
One day it meant no coffee for anyone in the house. No coffee at all for anybody because somebody broke a rule. No coffee for the kid who had to get up at 4 am so he could ride his bike two towns to the east to be on time for a court date because the House won't arrange rides.
Another time it meant nobody could go for a smoke in the back yard. Instead they had to walk down the block and smoke in front of someone else's house.
You're shaking your head, now aren't you? You're wondering how... why... what the hell?
Who lives like this?
This all seems so backwards. You've got a house full of people who you're trying to help get on their feet, and you treat them like kindergartners?
It always amazes me that organizations can be run by people who seem to despise the ones they're supposed to be serving.
But we do. We don't seem to be able to find the difference between a hug and a headlock. A shoulder to lean on and a body check.
If you screwed up once, by howdy, I'm not going to let you screw up again. As long as you're under my roof...
But they're not always under that roof. They go out all day.
My friend hied herself off to the Sub shop one afternoon last week. Ordered the biggest, fattest roast beef sub they had, sat at a window table and reveled in her lovely ham-free extravaganza. Went back to the House in time for supper and said, "No thanks. I'm not hungry."
r
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