Passed So Far: At the request of myself and the other mother, the service manager from our daughter’s soon-to-be service agency and a DDS representative met with the realtor and me at a 2-bedroom apartment in the complex where we hope the young ladies will reside. The purpose was to find out if this unit, though not available to us, would pass inspection. It did. Minor adjustments would have to be made, door knobs changed, locks simplified, hard wired smoke alarms added. But the primary structural aspects of this 2-bedroom template, including the two egresses and height of the windows, meet the safety specifications.

Green Light: This gives us the go ahead to quickly sign a lease on  the next 2-bedroom that comes available in the complex without waiting for the inspection….any delay would be risky as these units seem to get snapped up pretty fast.

General Impression: Both the service manager and the DDS representative seemed impressed with the complex and the town’s resources for special needs adults. Their enthusiasm for this new venture bodes well for good staffing and programming.

All We Need Is Luck: With a bit of luck a unit will come up soon, and like lightening, I will strike to scoop it up. You can be sure!

Speed and Patience Required: Though the funds won’t be released before July sometime, and staffing and programming follows on the heels of funding, surely requiring more time and patience, signing a lease early would have the advantage of allowing both young ladies to get busy fixing up their future home, scouting out the neighborhood and generally acclimating to each other and to the world opening up before them.

Both sets of parents are on board to financially provide that bridge until the rental subsidy funds are released. We were told, as guardians, that it would not be a problem for us to be on the lease, at least for the interim.

Fingers Crossed, the pieces of this crazy quilt will continue to come together. Fingers crossed. 

©Jill Edelman, M.S.W., L.C.S.W.