OSH stories
When I was at OSH for those three months in 2016, every single day, 3 or more times a day I would spend about $3 on soda and candy at the vending machines. I had arrived with a little bit of money, not a lot, and my solution was to turn to the system that had worked for me previously. The way I did it was via a fifteen-minute allotted computer time. The way computers work at OSH is they have three computers that are available for use for fifteen minutes by three patients once per week. To be one of the three that gets to go you have to keep a close eye on the door for the man that was in charge to arrive for his shift. It was first come, first serve unless someone had gone more than two weeks in a row. Anyways I logged into the ST student portal and requested a loan for a car repair, asking for the highest available amount they could deal out which was something a bit over a grand. I spent two weeks with no money wondering if it would be accepted. The backing I had was that I had already done this once and paid the loan back in full, so of course they would approve it again.
I would call my bank every single day all day waiting to see if the deposit went through, until one morning I called and my balance was over a grand. This payload would both help and hinder me. In the short run it helped because I was able to buy candy and soda again, as well as buy some for others. This money also allowed me to purchase a carton of Marlboro Red 100's on the first gas station trip at Southside Recovery. The way it hindered me was that because of this loan and my inability to pay it back once I returned to society I was kept me from being able to re-enroll in college at ST. The next few years I would go without pursuing my education because of this limitation. If I had paid it back once I got my disability back pay my life probably would have been the same given the living situation, but I would have kept the opportunity to return to college and complete my degree. Eventually of course my grandmother's decision to set up a retirement account for all three grandchild and for some unknown reason, Bryce's wife, I was able to pay the loan back and transfer to Arkansa St finishing my degree in business after 10 years later from when I began.