Can one post happy news on here too?
My best friend is closing on a condo today. It's the culmination of a long and difficult journey. She's severely disabled and can't work at all. After many years of living with her mother, the mother showed her the door (long story.) She spent several months in a homeless shelter until a social worker found a space for her in a high-rise housing project.
She was really grateful to have it, but it's a concrete efficiency reeking of bleach and stale cigarettes. It gave me the creeps just going there to visit. Thankfully the place has tight security so crime is not an issue beyond the petty stuff. It's a far cry from the Salivation Army, but she's been cordially miserable there for five years.
Ultimately someone introduced her to a program helping first-time home buyers on a low income. She's taken a series of classes while they helped her with her credit, and they've helped her find some grants for buyers with disabilities. She's been able to work for stints of a few weeks here and there to supply the down payment. This Saturday she'll be free! Back to the beloved neighborhood of her youth. She called me up in happy tears last week to tell me about the closing date.
Moving date is this Saturday, and I'm giving her a freezer full of steak and pork chops (see my old thread in Health Tips) as a house-warming gift.
The American Dream is intact, at least for one person. The system works!
