Independent Living Skills

On Monday, Sharon will start working with the woman from Life Skills Unlimited. I talked with Robin earlier this week for over an hour. She is really nice and has a lot of great qualities that I feel, at this time, match with the way that we have been moving forward in working with Sharon.

It won't be a cheap endeavor, but it won't be horrible either. At least Sharon has benefits that we can use to cover the cost and move her towards independence.

We had our visit at Pioneer to talk about further services last week. We talked about housing situations. Talk about DISCOURAGING! Group homes aren't an option right now because they are dependent on CILA (Community-Integrated Living Arrangement) which is dependent on PUNS (Prioritization of Urgency of Need for Services). People who have emergency needs are still waiting several years before they are pulled off the PUNS. Sooo, obviously group home is not really an option for Sharon. Transitional Living facilities presently have a couple of openings, but the two women in the facility right now are on CILA and Pioneer can't figure out if they can have CILA funding and other funding in the same home. WHA?! Whatever...I guess that isn't an option for awhile (I did tell the person we certainly were willing to be a pilot though :) Then there is Section 8 Rental Assistance. Because of the economy...eligibility is backed up 3-4 years. Holy Crap?! Can we buy a break somewhere please?!

Well, we are hoping, with Robin's help, that she can get Sharon ready and budgeted so that Sharon can go independent on her own with the funds that she gets from Social Security as well as funds she will earn from her new job. God willing her job will change from seasonal to year-round.