#12: FAMILY OF CHANGE
11-3-19
The couple in a family moving on to the next chapter of their lives chat about the difficulties of maintaining a positive mindset. They are looking forward to finally having a roof over their head under the help of section 8.
Dad
I’ve had ten cell phones got stolen. The first four were Metro and the rest were California Lifeline. There are two different services: safety net and insurance. Long story short, we are just approved for section 8 inspection. About 10 years ago we joined the wait list. I know Vacaville is kind of a cow town. Literally, in Spanish it means cow, so it’ll take some adjusting but it's a start for us. This week we’ll probably get the section 8. I think the navigation center would be good right here.
I have a really bad attitude and I’ve been screaming at my wife. I am on disability from work related injuries and my wife and my son are also on disability. I've been taking care of him. He's not my birth child but I've known him since he was six and a half. He’s twenty two right now. He doesn't know anybody else so I've been taking care of him. No matter what she and I go through I can't do that to the child. I understand if I’m arguing with my wife but by the same token as a man I cannot do that to the child. So, there's gonna be some adjusting. We’ll have housing and things will start to turn around but there's a lot of work to do.
A lot of what I don't understand is concerning my attitude; if you seem to have a negative attitude, running around staying angry all the time, they tend to stay away from you. People don't want to deal with that kind of stuff. I think what I need to do, what God wants to teach us, is if I work on my attitude and be more gracious for what I have it’ll be better. Even though I don’t have the best attitude most times, I have to put forth the effort to get things done. That's what I have to impart to her. 90% of the people here don't want to get up and work but they have to.
As far as it goes, I just need to be thankful for that and focus on that. They're connecting me with other organizations for furniture.
Mom
My son is in a home and I'm just gonna take him out of that when we get the section 8. My worker said she’s gonna get us a bed, sofa, table, chairs. But I might need little stuff. Dressers. My place is gonna be in Vacaville, two hours from here. My son has very severe autism. He's nonverbal and he doesn't know anybody but he doesn't bother nobody. He stays at a boarding home and they feed him and take care of him. I'm gonna try looking for a part time job. My husband doesn't need to work because he's on social security so he can stay at home and look after my son.