Talked with my case manager today. It was like getting teeth pulled par usual. Not because she's a bad person (Heck,I give her brownie points for being this patient with me. Dealing with someone with manic depression who has panic attacks cannot be the most easy-going of experiences!) but because I have to supposedly "jump thru a lot of hoops" just to get a voucher for something that in essence provides me with the exact same services/opportunities as the current program I'm on. Some of those hoops have already been traversed and taken care of but I still find it odd not one of my past case-workers tried getting me a NED voucher or at the very least explained to me what a NED voucher was. I've been with Homeward Bound (A subsidiary of HUD housing ) for close to or a little over 20 years so having my current worker spring all this upon me at once with no "build up" to have prepared me has not been good for my stress levels.
I also surmise it's a somewhat gender-based issue. Aka, men like everything easily explained and to cut straight to the heart of the matter. Women tend to be more empathetic to emotions so they may dance around certain dicey details in an attempt to make a person more comfortable. Neither approach is inherently "wrong" and they both come with pros and cons. I simply prefer the "abridged version" that's simple to take in and lays down the factoids. For example, I was lead to believe I had a choice. It was never explained to me before very recently that the NED voucher was mandatory and that me "graduating" from Homeward bound is a natural progression. Based on past experiences I just assumed so long as I maintained being a good tenant and supplied my case worker with the proper paper-work everything would be 100% fine and the worst of all the hurdles I endured applying for HUD were behind me. Apparently not! "Everything" is subject to change at the whim of our policy makers and that REALLY sucks sometimes!
Regardless we meet again on the 30th at which point I'm probably going to cooperate and simply get the tail end of all this B.S. taken care of. Yes, I'll do the orientation even those it'll be the common sense equivalent of "Don't break stuff,don't become an alcoholic or drug addict,don't smoke indoors,pay your portion of the rent on time,and don't be an asshole to your landlord or the other tenants!" It saddens me to think some people out there truly need to be coached in common decency but here we are in 2020! Beyond that they do one more inspection and then supposedly it is "over". I'm told this will ensure I can still ask Homeward Bound for help but they will not have to meet with me monthly or bi weekly anymore. If true this would be fine as any sort of meetings make me anxious anyway and regurgitating the same talking points becomes boring at best and frustrating at worst.
It simply strikes me as "amazing" how much disabled and impoverished tenants have to endure just to keep a roof over their heads. You'd think they'd try to make it all a little more reasonable as you're already burdened dealing with those other aforementioned things but "Big Brother Bureaucracy" makes no concessions or compromises. You either sign every doted line and run every labyrinth or you end up back on the streets. They do not even have to threaten you by telling you as it is the cold hard reality of the situation.