Mission D Update I

It's Sunday afternoon. I am waiting on a call from D. He is working today, and every day he continues on his job is good news. He has his days off this week on Wednesday and Thursday.

On Tuesday afternoon, as I picked D up from work about 4:00 pm, I learned that we were to pick up DD from his mother, again! But we had planned to go to the bank to get some cash. Ds debit card had arrived yesterday, and we need to put it to use... immediately! We needed to get there before 5:00, in case the bank would be closed and we needed help. This would take about 25 minutes, given rush hour traffic. It would take us another 30 minutes to get to T's apartment. Of course, we couldn't get there soon enough. T texted D every five minutes from the time he left work until we did arrive about 5:00 pm. This was even after she left DD with a neighbor while she left to attend a job orientation. Apparently she was able to get her old job back, and she wasn't leaving town as D was told about two weeks earlier.

When we do arrive, the neighbor is sitting outside with D, and three loose diapers. Again, the child had only the clothes on his back. The good news is that D now has him in possession. It is not yet legal custody. We are working on those papers and hope to get the case filed in the next week or so. We head back to the house. I make arrangements to meet with him on Wednesday to bring DD a box of toys and books our daughter Kim has assembled for DD.

Each day I am with D, I ask him to give me a list of groceries he needs, and I will shop for them while waiting for him at the Kroger store across the street, or after I drop him at his 'house'. Regardless of where D is staying at the moment, his term for where he is staying is 'house'.

Currently, D is staying at In-Town Suites. He was staying with Joe and his girlfriend in Mt. Airy Towers apartments. What a dive. They had a basement apartment, and both inside and outside was filthy. They all had to move one day when Duke Energy cut off the electricity. That was the 7th of September. As an emergency stop gap measure, I arranged to have him move to In-Town Suites...$159/week. One room, bath, kitchen-ette, refrigerator and microwave. Not much, but cleaner than the apartment in Mt. Airy Towers. This was also where Joe and his girlfriend moved. I have continued to cover the cost of his room to this week, while we look for a more permanent location.

On Wednesday I arrive around 1:00 pm, deliver the box of toys and books, and make arrangements to spend time with D on Thursday. We will work on filing the papers for custody of DD and we will look for better housing. D is appreciative, and grateful for the toys. Reports are that DD loves them as well. He actually played with them until 4 in the morning!

On Thursday, we meet about noon. I had been able to contact D's attorney to discuss the pending (Oct. 3) court appearance, and just before leaving the house, received the documentation needed to confirm the date of the hearing. This documentation was needed for D to request time off for that specific date. Also, I had arranged to meet with Barbara to look at an apartment in College Hill. We also wanted to look at places near his work location. But first things first. It was off to IHOP for lunch! D had arranged for baby sitting, so DD was not along to slow us down.

Our first task after lunch was to get the court paper to D's boss. We had just enough time to get there and to the apartment in College Hill. The apartment was in a great location for living, but not so good for working. We would keep it as an option. Next, it was time for a haircut. D's barber is on Cedar Ave. Then to the vicinity of D's job to look at two additional apartment options.

Both were satisfactory, in fact, quite nice. Prices for a single bedroom are between $640 and $720. The first option had a strict policy. No felonies in the last 7 years. The second option seems a bit more flexible. We are still waiting to hear, but if D has a guarantor, it might be feasible. We could hear about this opportunity on Monday next week. A prayer point, for sure!

The issue with all of these locations will be child care for DD. D has made enough friends at the motel that he has managed to line up others who are out of work and homeless to help with child care. Hopefully, this will be temporary. But, for now, it works. When he moves to another location, it will become quite difficult.

I am understanding the difficulty of decent housing for a person with a felony in his/her background. Seven years is a long time to wait to have your past cleared enough to be able to live where you want to.

Well, back to the house on Thursday... some progress on the papers, but not done.

I will continue this in my next post...