As many of us already know, the economy is taking a toll on so many people, so hard that life as we once knew it has changed. So it is with me.
As I write this post I am struggling to just keep my head above water, but the water is rising very fast. And I am reaching out for help.
At one time, the men in the Miracles In Progress Aftercare Recovery Homes were able to come into the homes without a dime, and within a week or so have a job, and their weekly rent paid and caught up on their arrears shortly thereafter. Today, when I elect to give a man a hand, that is coming out of treatment, detox, jail, hospital, or from the streets, even putting forth his very best efforts it can take up to a month before a job is landed, and a week or two after that before a check is available to them. Community resources to help these men have dried out as well, because the agencies that are allotted these type of funds are overwhelmed with the need to help families with children, the elderly, vets, and the disabled. The alcoholic or addict is not a priority on their list. I will not debate whether this is right or wrong, it is what it is. A good example of this is our detox center here. Two years ago, it had 21 beds, and was shut down due to a lack of funding. 18 months later, it reopened with only 7 beds available. This is in a community with the highest DWI related accident record for the past 5 years in all of North Carolina, and with a population of 100,000 people. 7 detox center beds. Agencies such as Vocational Rehabilation is floating vouchers... what this means is they will issues a voucher to help a man with a month of rent in a recovery home, but that isn't the same as getting a check. It can take up to six months before those funds are available to them to make good on the voucher they issued, and... if the man is not currently living in the facility at the time the funds become available, even though you allotted him the month based on the voucher, you can't collect it. The funds can only be used to assist with their "current housing". Churches are doing all they can, but again, their funds are being funneled directly into the community resource agencies that distribute the funding based on priority and availability, not to the individual who is at the church asking for help.
This being the case, I have had to change how I was doing things, and start requiring that an individual have a means by which to pay at least the first week rent and a 100.00 deposit (195.00) before I could allow them into the homes. And if they can't afford to pay their rent for 2 Fridays, with no evidence that it is forthcoming from some resource and I have to terminate them from the MIP houses. Now I don't know about any one else, but for someone to ask me for 195.00 when I got out of treatment in 1989, they might as well be asking for a million dollars. Nor did I have a dime after a trip through detox, or a hospital, or coming out of a jail in the years before.
I never wanted this endeavor to be about a dollar, but my gawh, let a man get behind 4-6 weeks, (because you see him doing all he can), and when he finally gets a check... he moves into another recovery home because its cheaper for him to pay their first week and deposit then to pay his debt that he occurred while job seeking here at MIP for a month or so! This use to not be an issue, but in todays economy it is, because the debt that is being incurred can easily get to a place where the newcomer cannot see any way to the other side of it. It becomes overwhelming, so they put their running shoes on. And I had housed them for that period of time without collecting a dime! So, fault me if you will but I couldn't endure their debt any longer and had to shut down the generousity faucet, and start requiring that they be able to pay their rent or after 2 weeks, which is really two fridays which is actually 1 week span, they had to make other living arrangements. I just couldn't keep enduring the expenses they were generating any longer.
I want to scream right now!
Then on a personal note; I have had a pressure washing and painting business for the past 10 years. Until a few years ago, I made some very serious money. And I could provide several of the men coming into the homes with work. However, when the economy crashed, so did new construction work, which accounted for approximately 60-70 % of the work I was getting. Even the other 30-40%, the average home owner, was tightening their grip on what they would spend on their own homes because many didn't see doing improvements on a home when its market value was suddenly below what the bank was owed, or they were sitting and waiting to find out if they were on the forclosure list, because they fell into the "substandard loan" bracket. Not because they hadn't made the payments but because they did not actually qualify for the loan they got for the home 10-15 years before. So, a home that started out being 700.00 - 900.00 per month suddenly saw a ridulous (balloned) increased of such proportions (some over double the original amount) that the average family couldn't make the payments on any more, and so by default it ended up on the forclosure list, based on "projected earnings". In short the bank knew these folks would not be able to endure the increase, and then applied the appropriate loan qualifiers as to whether or not to keep carrying the loan of the home. Just a year ago here, one out of 12 homes were being forclosed on. So, this situation took a big bite out of the little 30-40% of work resources I had left after the new construction came to an end around here.
I have busted my ass over the years, working hard, helping people whenever I could, keeping things above water even when it meant plugging holes to keep the water out so they could stay afloat...
and tomorrow my phone bill is due and I don't have any clue how I'm going to pay it. This is my life line. It is what I use for both the MIP recovery home intake interview calls, as well as my personal business calls. It's the line that members of MIP use when there is a problem on one of the message boards, or with the chat rooms, or a problem needs to be addressed with a member. It's also the phone I use to talk with my grandchildren each week. (In short, I have no other phone)
This week, I have over 1,000.00 due in utility bills between the two Miracles In Progress recovery homes and my own place, (yes, I pay three leases, three electric bills, three water bills, three cable bills, three of everything each month) and every thing is hitting me at once, and only have 400.00 to work with and less than 400.00 worth of work scheduled for the week thus far.
I want to scream! But I'm not going to... I am going to ask for help. No amount will be accepted without a great amount of appreciation and gratitude returned.
Thats what I am doing now, asking for your help. If you can afford to assist me with any funds to get through this rough spot, while I determine what method to utilize to bring things back to a place of true manageability for both myself personally and for the recovery houses, I would greatly appreciate it.
If you want to help through paypal, using a credit card, my account there is mip@12stepforums.net
If you want to send it using Walmart's Money Gram, (which can be done online as well) send it to John Freifeld, Wilmington, NC (you must call me at 910-620-4554 with the referrence number in order for me to pick it up)
If you want to send it via the US Postal service, send it to
John Freifeld - 2302 Boardwalk Ave - Wilmington, NC 28403
If you would personally like to talk to me before making a decision as to whether or not you want to help, which would be fully understandable... please do, my phone number is 910-620-4554.
I just ask that you seek your own heart and keep in mind this isn't only helping one person, it helps many as a by product.
I am asking for your help, because it is truly needed.
