Joey tells me he's moving to Virgina with his homeless family. He says there's nothing here for him. They are leaving on Saturday. I'm torn here. I have a few choices...I need to pray about it.
He is moving to Virginia with a homeless family. Huh? That sounds stupid. Is it his girlfriend's family?
And he has plenty of choices. It is a decision he (hopefully) made on his own based on a review of his current situation. He obviously is missing facts, but he needs to make mistakes to learn from them.
I wish he would stay in town, close to you and his family. Or hell, even come to Portland where he has me. But he has to make decisions and have to deal with consequences. He will never learn if he never gets that chance.
Prayer helps, if answered or even if it just allows you to center your thoughts on the problem and its possible solutions.
I don't know how much you want to 'enable' Joey. He is ready to be cast unto the world, at least by age. When I was 19, I had already moved to another state. My support network consisted of myself and my girlfriend at the time. It worked out for me, so I can only hope that this works out for Joey. I did have family available to me, if I really needed it, and I guess so should Joey. You may consider (if you can afford it) setting aside the price of an airline ticket and offer that as an emergency option for him. How are they getting across the country, by the way? And why? Is Vannessa right, that the girlfriend's family is in Virginia?
Yes, the homeless family he's been camping with is moving back to where they came from. They are driving supposedly.
The big issue I have is that yes, it is his girlfriend. She is not even 16 yet and she's a sweet young girl. A child. I feel like I should save her, because I see myself 20 years ago. Trapped, or so I thought. I dont' know what is the matter with her mother, letting Joey just hang out like that. She did work a little at a motel but that was too nasty for her. I don't know about you, but if my family were homeless, I would shovel shit or whatever it took.
I wish he would move on in another direction, and not just follow those who will enable him. I feel like I should do something, but what I don't know.
Re: Virginiawayfarer_atlasSeptember 19 2005, 23:08:17 UTC
Homeless, with no support (am I right in that?) and driving across the entire country. A lot can go wrong, but miracles do happen. There are those in the world who are not driven by accomplishment, those who cannot connect 'work' with 'solution to current situation'. There are those who would rather drift than strive. One of the things we do here at my workplace is provide temporary employment for people, specializing in people with disabilities. We have found that a number of the folks who come in here don't really _want_ to work, but either must provide a good faith show for their handlers (government or some private charity org) or have finally exhausted their current round of unemployment options with the state. It's a common theme throughout the temp industry. For the girl, as she is a minor in the care of her guardian, any intervention on your part may be dicey. If you suspect that she is being harmed in some way by this situation, you may contact the state about it, but you probably knew that already. But by now they've
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And he has plenty of choices. It is a decision he (hopefully) made on his own based on a review of his current situation. He obviously is missing facts, but he needs to make mistakes to learn from them.
I wish he would stay in town, close to you and his family. Or hell, even come to Portland where he has me. But he has to make decisions and have to deal with consequences. He will never learn if he never gets that chance.
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I don't know how much you want to 'enable' Joey. He is ready to be cast unto the world, at least by age. When I was 19, I had already moved to another state. My support network consisted of myself and my girlfriend at the time. It worked out for me, so I can only hope that this works out for Joey. I did have family available to me, if I really needed it, and I guess so should Joey. You may consider (if you can afford it) setting aside the price of an airline ticket and offer that as an emergency option for him. How are they getting across the country, by the way? And why? Is Vannessa right, that the girlfriend's family is in Virginia?
My thoughts are with you.
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The big issue I have is that yes, it is his girlfriend. She is not even 16 yet and she's a sweet young girl. A child. I feel like I should save her, because I see myself 20 years ago. Trapped, or so I thought. I dont' know what is the matter with her mother, letting Joey just hang out like that. She did work a little at a motel but that was too nasty for her. I don't know about you, but if my family were homeless, I would shovel shit or whatever it took.
I wish he would move on in another direction, and not just follow those who will enable him. I feel like I should do something, but what I don't know.
Reply
There are those in the world who are not driven by accomplishment, those who cannot connect 'work' with 'solution to current situation'. There are those who would rather drift than strive. One of the things we do here at my workplace is provide temporary employment for people, specializing in people with disabilities. We have found that a number of the folks who come in here don't really _want_ to work, but either must provide a good faith show for their handlers (government or some private charity org) or have finally exhausted their current round of unemployment options with the state. It's a common theme throughout the temp industry.
For the girl, as she is a minor in the care of her guardian, any intervention on your part may be dicey. If you suspect that she is being harmed in some way by this situation, you may contact the state about it, but you probably knew that already. But by now they've ( ... )
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But weird that Joey is just off and going with them.
Don't take it personally. He has to do this on his own.
Thanks for filling me in.
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