Moving Into Transitional Living

Sharon is moving into the transitional living facility next week. She is actually excited!

She spent last weekend with the girls that already live on-site and they had a blast. Of course, me (being voice of reason) said that I was so glad they had a nice visit, but then reminded her that, with the fun, her main goal is to develop her independent living skills. Of course, she agreed...but I am not quite sure how much she meant she agreed and how much she was agreeing because she knew that is what I wanted to hear.

Either way, we have tried to cover all angles in this transitional living situation. One of my biggest questions was related to renter's insurance. Does she need it?

The short answer was -- "you are the first person to ask that." The final answer was -- "it's up to you." Hmmm, okay. I know the rest of the house doesn't have it, but does that mean it is okay for us not to? It's not that there are a lot of valuables (trust me, there aren't), but it seems like a smart thing to check into. Can't hurt to get a quote at least.

Monthly Rent and What is Covered
Sharon has to pay rent each month to pay for her living space, utilities, etc. She is going to eventually be sharing her room so what is really being covered? Well, 1/2 a room to sleep in (we are providing furniture), utilities (electric, gas, water and garbage), living space for awake time (living room, dining, laundry facilities in the townhome, etc), some food (they do use the food bank and pantries, but some food the girls are responsible for in addition to buying things like paper products, dish soaps, etc). There is also a bike she could use as well as a computer and entertainment system.

Sharon is also provided a caseworker (who will help her with Dr. appointments, managing her time, budget, etc), there is a nurse that visits every couple of weeks and there is a program manager on-site who she can interact with as well.

What Is Not Covered
Sharon is responsible for buying all of her own personal products (soap, shampoos, feminine hygiene products, clothing, etc). This is very reasonable. She is also responsible for paying for her own entertainment and bus fare to work or activities. I mentioned before we are bringing in her own bedroom furniture and she is responsible for some food and community products. She is also responsible for any additional life skill building programming (we have hired Life Skills Unlimited to work on Sharon's money skills).

Overall, we think this is a really great deal!

I think the biggest thing in getting this to work has been to be organized throughout this process. The overriding words I have been hearing so far are: "you are so organized" or "most people aren't ready to go and so the process takes longer."

I have to say, I didn't feel overly organized, but our schedules are so jammed that I had to have my crap together or we were going to sink from the get-go.

Another thought: have your spouse write questions about the process and facility, and I had Sharon write too. Question, question, question. I admit that I was surprised by the lack of answers to some of the questions, but at the same time I needed to remember that, to some extent, we are a pilot in this effort. I was surprised by the good thoughts that Sharon had to present to the caseworker and program coordinator. Her thoughts were in the form of single words in this case, but she got her point across and it was a good start for her in communication of her needs and questions to needs.

Advocating for herself...that is one of the goals she is working on. That's a tough one when you are 44 and haven't been given the chance to even decide on going to the bathroom on your own. But Sharon being her own advocate is totally do-able.

Our last step, aside from the actual move, is finishing off the medical requirements needed in order to be considered complete. In Sharon's case, she needed to have an updated tetanus shot, a 2-step TB test and the vision screening (all things that could be done with a nurse visit at my doctor's office - thankfully).

Packing on the agenda for the holiday weekend. Joyous packing.