The Cat

I kept telling the same thing for many years to an old friend I had and he doesn't listen. How can a person who's college educated, studied psychology and is a teacher be so stupid? He studied psychology in college and he knew I needed psychiatric treatment and he didn't tell me anything so I wouldn't get SSI. After I was given SSI he used to say to me, "tu te la ta haciendo pa que te den ayuda." One time we were having a conversation over the phone and he said to me, "sigue viviendo del sistema." What kind of friend is that? Another time we were talking over the phone, I asked him what he was doing and he said to me, "trabajando" and I think he was in the laundry. He visited me at the hospital a few times when I was hospitalized, he also knows that I'm asthmatic. Because he studied psychology in college I used to call him to tell him about the things I was going through with my family and at work. Another time he said to me, "tu tiene dos hijos y no te ha encargado de ello." He knows that when me and my ex wife were together I used to take good care of my ex wife and my kids. Even after me and my ex wife separated and I was still working I used to give her money. One time my ex wife went to Florida to take a flight attendant course. When she was there I always sent her money. When she came back she told me gratefully I was never in need of money when I was there. That’s because I always sent her money. Another time she decided to move to Florida and she left our kids with her mother. Even though we were not together anymore and she left our kids with her mother she called me desperately and almost crying asking me to send her twenty dollars for her to buy something to eat. I said yes to her, I went out to an agency and I sent a hundred dollars to her. Even though we were not together anymore and she left our kids with her mother she kept calling me to send money to her and I used to send it to her. When my ex wife was in Florida her mother secretly used to let me see my kids. When I told her mother that she used to call me to ask me to send her money her mother told me to not answer the phone when she calls me. When I used to visit my kids every month at my ex wife's mother's house I used to give my mother in law two hundred dollars. I remember one day after me and my ex wife broke up my mother in law put a dirty jacket on my daughter, she went to my house, I met her downstairs and she told me that my daughter needed new clothes. I knew she was lying to me but I went up to my house again, I got some money from my house and I gave her three hundred dollars. I noticed that in the van she was giving her other daughter money from the money I gave her for my daughter. My family and the friend I wrote about should be glad that I am lucky to be getting government benefits. Instead they turned against me and used to harass me when I was given SSI knowing that I am sick and that I've been hospitalized. My cousin Mildred before welfare changed here and started sending people who get welfare get jobs she lived of welfare for many years and she used to judge me because I am getting SSI. You see why I don't like Dominicans? Spaniards don't like Dominicans. They hate Dominicans and I see why. I blocked my old friend before for being so fucking stupid and I blocked him again this time. When I first applied for SSI I was denied. I told my social worker at the clinic I used to go to he told me to take the letter I received to the social security office and file for a fare hearing. I had to wait one year to see the judge. While I waited for a year to see the judge I was getting welfare. When I received a letter saying when I had to see the judge that day I met with my lawyer there. In the court room the judge introduced us to a group of people who were going to be at the hearing. Me, my mother and my lawyer were the only Spanish people at the hearing. The rest were white. After being there for a while I noticed that the people there wanted me to get approved I think it was because they knew how bad things were getting in this country at that time. After being there talking to the judge my lawyer got up, he showed the judge some documents, the judge showed the documents to a psychiatrist that was there. The judge asked the psychiatrist what he thinks, the psychiatrist spoke to the judge and I was approved and for many years I've been living a good life getting SSI. I don't get millions but I always get enough to cover my needs and now I live happy in a nice house that's very spacious in a peaceful community with a good roommate who has cats. Before getting government benefits I always feared losing my job and I can tell other people feel the same way. For me that fear is gone, I feel secure and fearless. Being homeless was my greatest fear. I am no longer afraid because I am in a good housing program and I was told by them that they won't let me be homeless. An old roommate I had moved from a group home to this housing program. He didn't have anything and the housing case workers of this program helped him get government benefits. He was getting social security benefit then it was stopped when he was moved to the group home. He can get a monthly check from the social security administration like he did before but he doesn't want to reply. I live with a new roommate at the house I live now. He went to a club, at the club someone stole his wallet, his identity was stolen, someone started working with his documents and his SSI was stopped. He only gets food stamps and this housing program allows him to live here without paying rent. His food stamps don't last for a whole month so what I do is feed him and his cats. I always tell him that if he needs to buy something with cash to let me know and I always give him money. I told him to keep it secret and I think he told his Jamaican friend about it. I told him that if he keeps telling people that I give him money I could get robbed and killed and to keep his fucking mouth shut but he doesn't listen. Mustafa told me that he is developmentally retarded. He can only buy food with the food stamps and I make sure we always have the things we need. I always order the things we need from Amazon and I always keep the house clean.