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LAMOY COBURN
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30
Program Health
04/26/20 at 2:24PM UTC
in
Career

Struggling to obtain Internet Access in order to work from home

Since the start of the COVID-19, my employer advised if the opportunity to work from home. I enjoy this opportunity which allows me to balance out my finances and ultimately save money. I am currently free from the $240 monthly transportation cost, the 3 hour commute ( 1/2 hours ea. way), the $800 monthly childcare costs, and hopefully no traffic tickets. About 2 months ago due to the volatile things happening in my place if residence, I had to immediately move out for the safety of both me and my child. I am temporarily residing in a domestic violence Shelter in NYC. The struggle also came about when I had to travel from Upper Manhattan to Queens at 6 am to take my 6 year old daughter to her school. Then I would leave from Queens to travel back to the Lower East side of Manhattan to go to work. Then in the evenings, I would leave work and travel back to Queens to pick up my daughter and finally get back to the Shelter at 9:30 pm. I was exhausted. With the COVID-19 order, at least I am relieved for a temporary moment. Then the other struggle begins, the lack of WiFi access. The DOE provided me with a laptop for my child which is WiFi enabled not Internet Ready. The Shelter does not have the capability to provide WiFi for the residents and I have discussed this issue numerous times with the Director, wrote a letter to the Mayor’s office, and even contacted the Homeless Shelter Administrative offices to no avail. I haven’t even received a call back. It’s been 3 weeks and I do not have the resources for my child to homeschool. My daughter also has ADHD not yet officially diagnosed because we are awaiting a follow-up appointment. It is difficult for me to work an homeschool at the same time although I’ve set up a schedule and behavioral reward system. Apart from my trying to homeschool my adhd child, I’m struggling to focus on my work with the constant distractions. I also believe that I may have ADD undiagnosed. Since the start of Covid19, I had to take 2 days pto because I attempted to connect to WiFi but could not obtain a strong enough connection. I was fortunate to have a relative lend me hers, which led to the successful ability to work from home. At times, I would loose connection and I would have to reconnect which was a bit frustrating. Last week, I had to return the small WiFi device back to my cousin. While I was using my cousin’s WiFi, I ordered my own from Amazon and awaited for it to arrive. When it arrived, I had already returned the other to my cousin per her request but now I had to wait for the SIM card to arrive yet another 2 days. I was left without any opportunity to connect and struggled to find an opportunity to work. Early last week Monday, I drove to a library nearby Queens to connect. I did gain connection but later had to leave due to the request of a Security Guard who told me that the library is closed and off limits. Then I drove to a Starbucks parking lot and successfully connected but had to assist my child with using the restroom in the ice storm. The next day, I learned of NYC Link which allows free Internet and you can park nearby. I still struggled with restroom issues for my child and it was difficult for her to sit still in the car so I was often distracted. I had deadlines, meetings, and important conference calls. I felt so overwhelmed. Then my car battery died and I to stop working and contact my insurance company and was towed to PepBoys. The same thing happened the next day. This time I bought a battery costs $185.00. I really broke down. I did not want to tell my employer my personal issues but my counselor at the Shelter advised me too. Currently I’m not sure what is going to happen next week. I make to much money at $50 K to qualify for any programs but I am told by landlords that I do not make enough to rent an apartment. The average cost of a 1 bedroom apartment in NYC is $1500. I am looking to relocate and find a place to call home. I’ve looked into relocating to Atlanta, GA ( former residence), Arlington, Virginia, North Carolina, or Stamford Connecticut as a more affordable place to live. I have a bachelors and Masters degree but still struggling. I’ve applied for other positions with my company as well. I have to find a stable place of residence for the Fall season for my daughter. I’m not sure what the opportunities are now due to the COVID situation. Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated.

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Breanna Fountain
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82
Critical care RN turned clinical sales manager
04/29/20 at 11:46PM UTC
Wow. Thank you for sharing what is going on with you. My hope is that you and your daughter are safe in your current situation. Working from a car is extremely difficult and I commend you for the perseverance and dedication you demonstrate in this message. Have you spoken to your company about your challenges? I know sometimes asking for help can backfire, but hopefully your company/manager has some empathy. I know thoughts and prayers are not the most help in desperate times and I don't know anything about the challenges of NYC as I live overseas, but I hope for your sake, you can keep striving through these tough times. Personally, when times are tough, I try to think of even one small thing to be thankful/grateful for each day so I don't let the darkness of all the challenges overwhelm me. Wishing you and your daughter all the good things you deserve.
LAMOY COBURN
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30
Program Health
04/29/20 at 12:25PM UTC
Thank you for the information Ms. Brown
Misherald Brown
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74
Ambitious gogetter who always chases her dreams
04/28/20 at 2:58PM UTC
Try this... https://www.internetessentials.com/
LAMOY COBURN
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30
Program Health
04/27/20 at 1:08PM UTC
Ms. Downs, thank you for your encouragement. I am really desiring to move. I dream of things like owning a home and experiencing a quiet family atmosphere and a good place to raise a family. As a single parent, I think about the expenses associated with NY and the cost of home prices. Unless I’m making a lot more money and have family support the thought is unlikely. I want to stick it out to stay here with my company for a little while longer. I’ll look into NYP. I believe that they have some locations in Queens. I’m also nervous to go back to the office and have to start the long and expensive commute again. The thought of traveling 4x a day is a dreadful one. I’ll have to consider childcare. I love being in the office but I really think that my situation better sets me up for success working remotely.....well considering that I have the resources that I need. I’ll have to stick it out for a little while I guess but I do not want to get stuck in a lease should the opportunity arise. I’ll keep you posted. I’ll also call 311. Thank you.
Denise Downs
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297
Positive Psychologist
04/27/20 at 9:35AM UTC
Wow! You have a lot going on. I admire your ability to keep it going. Are you 100% focused on moving? In what time frame? Have you tried calling 311 to see what might be available to you? There are many NYC employers hiring right now. I'm not sure what field you are in, but most of the hospitals are hiring. New York Presbyterian is hiring and offers so many benefits to their employees including hardship loans. I'm not sure about eligibility criteria for the hardship loan. I wonder if your company has programs for employees in situations like yours. I think your idea about reaching out to HR is a good idea. My sister in law lives in North Carolina and she was just furloughed from Wake Forest Hospital due to financial hardship. Wake Forest is a good hospital but she was not on the clinical side. Since you have employment here, maybe you stick it out for a while and focus on housing? Let us know what you've decided to do.
Anonymous
04/26/20 at 7:03PM UTC
Due to Covid-19 there may be programs available to the shelter free of cost to be able to provide wi-fi internet to everyone that is currently staying there. I'm sorry you are having to go through all of this right now. It may be that since you have left an abusive situation and are still married that you are currently not eligible for help, however, once you have officially divorced your abuser, you may qualify for help with housing programs for you and your daughter. One of my friends that lives in NYC with her adult disabled son, and made nearly $40,000 last year by herself was able to qualify for rental assistance through one of the city programs there. So, I find it hard to believe that they'd be saying that you make too much at $50,000 for yourself and your daughter to qualify for help with rental assistance. My guess is it most likely happens to be that you are still married to your abuser, and until the divorce is finalized you won't be eligible for help. Which is unfortunately often the case, even in the state that I live in when it comes to women that leaving their abusers that are staying in domestic violence shelters. Things will get better, unfortunately, it will take some time until you are able to get things back under control financially, including with your housing situation. Just be patient with yourself right now. I also happen to be a survivor of domestic violence and sexual assault, so I have a lot of respect for other survivors, and understand that it's often not easy or safe to be able to immediately leave the first time.
LAMOY COBURN
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30
Program Health
04/27/20 at 12:49AM UTC
Thank you for your response to this message. Funny thing is that I’m not married or dating. I’ve never been married and I haven’t dated in over a year. Abuse comes in many forms and not necessarily the traditional. Perhaps your friend found assistance due to the disability of the child? I’m not sure why it is so limited especially in NY.
Anonymous
04/27/20 at 2:41AM UTC
No, they were told they would be separated and put into separate shelters, however, they got lucky when they were assigned a guardian ad litem to help with their eviction proceedings, due to her having been a domestic violence survivor with disabilities due to the abuse she endured. Their guardian ad litem was also able to help them navigate the system for help with housing, and job training. Her son has bipolar and the last time he lived on his own he went off his medications and attempted suicide and nearly died. He's been living with her ever since, while he's receiving social security disability. He's doing a lot better and hasn't had any more attempts or gone off his meds, since living with her. So, it was important for him to stay with her. They were able to get help, due to her being a domestic violence survivor from multiple years of abuse. That and they had a really awesome guardian ad litem that was able to help them find programs that they qualified for and that would keep them together. Don't give up hope on being able to stay in NYC, if that's what you really want to do. My friend found out that there were a lot of hidden programs that she didn't know about. They were able to get into a special housing voucher where they only pay 30% of what they make and the city covers the rest up to a certain amount. The program also helped cover moving costs and some money for them to get some furniture. I can't remember what it's called, however, it can be renewed yearly for up to 3 years. The other thing my friend found that a lot of progams were hidden in NYC, and she wasn't even told about the program that she's receiving help from now until she was assigned a case worker and eventually a guardian ad litem for her and her son by the court, once her attorney that was appointed to her by the housing court helped her through the system. It's unfortunately a very complex system. What's really crazy is where I live at if my husband and I got divorced I'd qualify for all sorts of help, however, due to us being married we barely make too much money to qualify for any help, but not enough to cover all our basic expenses. However, my husband would still not qualify for any help on his own, but he wouldn't even be able to afford his own place where live, where rents start at nearly $2000/mo.
Anonymous
04/26/20 at 4:59PM UTC
I’m sorry you’re having such a hard time. I am from at Atlanta and moved from there to the mountains 17 years ago. Atlanta is a good place for work (except with the pandemic) and there are places with reasonable rent. However, traffic is a nightmare. Have you though about a smaller city such as Anderson or Greenville, SC? I was working in Anderson and made a good living. The rentals are more affordable than Atlanta and Greenville is full of charm and local shops and entertainment. Kind of like living in a cross between a small town and a big city. Big cities all come with higher rents and horrible traffic. I love nearly an hour from Greenville, which is why I don’t work there, but I have. I live in a very rural area where rents are low and peace and quiet abound. It’s a wonderful place to raise kids. North Carolina is also nice. I like Charlotte but the traffic is bad and it’s a little pricey for me (sister in law lives there). I would just search rentals online for any area you’re interested in and see what you think you can afford. Good luck to you.
LAMOY COBURN
star-svg
30
Program Health
04/27/20 at 12:41AM UTC
I appreciate your response. I like that you have familiarity with the places I’ve mentioned. In what city do you live? I like the idea of Greenville. The other challenge is that I’m a single mother so I would certainly need to navigate childcare providers in the area so that I can work. Relocation can be a bit complicated especially with a small child and no help. We’ll see how it goes. I hope I can get it together and see the light at the end of the tunnel soon. ?

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