Lately, I have been struggling with what to do regarding my family and our living situation. I moved to Virginia from Connecticut, hoping to find better than our struggle back home. These last four years have not been a walk in the park for anyone of us. I am not sure if it is even worth trying to find a place where we are now. I even thought about going back home, but that would still be a struggle for me. Whenever I think I have something figured out, other thoughts kick in, making me feel like I am not making the right choice for my family.
Trying to find a place where we are hasn’t been an easy walk in the park either. We have no transportation, so it’s hard to get me and the wheelchair to the apartments or houses to see before I apply. Then, when I do apply, I am turned down due to no rental history and my income. Here they want you to make three to four times the rent. My theory is if I can pay almost two thousand to live in one room a month, then I can definitely pay rent which is cheaper than what I am paying now. This makes looking for a place so stressful. I have to pay two application fees each time since my oldest isn’t under eighteen years old.
I am spending money to be turned down, or I am being asked for a co-signer, and we have no one in our corner willing to co-sign for an apartment. I know anyone barely down here, and the few I do know wouldn’t be able to help us in that manner. This leaves me really stressed about trying to resolve our problem. I even started thinking if I could afford the extended stay, then maybe going back home isn’t such a far fetch task.
Without transportation, I wouldn’t be able to go back home to live. My wheelchair can’t be in the snow or rain due to the motor being on the bottom. If I need to go somewhere, I need transportation so my wheelchair won’t be compromised by the weather. That just makes matters more complicated since, right now, I don’t have the luxury of purchasing transportation. Guess we are here until we find a way to have our own place, which I am praying is sooner than later.
I needed to vent my frustrations and thank you for reading. If you know of any resources we can use, please email me at linette@coachingwithlinetteh.com.
Parenting with Mental Illness - Mom and Children 