My brother, Alfred, had the misfortune of suffering from the genetic mutation that causes bipolar Manic/Depression. Because of this recurring break in his normal behavior, hospitalization was the only solution, and it always brought him back into the realm of normal behavior. Long periods of hospitalization, however, results in the institutionalization of the patient, and my brother was no exception. After about 3 years of hospitalization, my brother was ready to enter a halfway house that was supposed to ease him back into society and prepare him to be self sufficient. In his case, he wound up in a very bad, poorly supervised halfway house that I considered potentially life threatening. . Mother decided that Alfred needed to be with one of us and it was obvious that I had the space and was more able to care for him.

After he was moved into my house and months before he would be able to live on his own, I began to look for HUD housing. This is government supported housing and many developers file for loans through this department. In exchange for a low cost loan, they have to set aside a certain percentage of the units for people on Medicaid.

Competition for the best places is stiff and requires a long waiting period. Alfred liked one particular place and we got his name on the list. This list is supposedly sacrosanct. It was not supposed to be subject to favoritism. We were told that it would be up to one year before Alfred would be at the top of the list. 

Meanwhile, Alfred and I worked on basic cooking skills, housekeeping, etc. The first step was to get him to feel safe enough to stop sleeping in his clothes and holding on to a gym bag that held his cigarettes. Daily showers and clean clothing came right along He learned to cook boiled eggs, sandwiches, frozen dinners, and bacon. He did shopping just fine. By one year he was ready to live on his own. The apartment complex we had chosen was in an excellent location; bus stops and grocery stores were within a couple of blocks. At this time I began to call about Alfred’s place on the list and was told he was not ‘up yet’. After a couple of calls, I decided to go and take a look at the list.

Alfred was afraid it would make them mad if we pressed. I disagreed and went to check. The lady in charge of HUD apartments was evasive about the list. I asked to see it and was told I couldn’t due to privacy. I ask her to give me my brother’s number. She couldn’t. I ask for her supervisor’s name and number. After one call, during which I left a message, Alfred was told that he had an apartment. A great day for all concerned.

A year or so later, my sister, Anet, said to mother, “Judith deserves a lot of credit for all she did to get Alfred ready to live on his own. And she deserves extra credit for standing up to the HUD people and getting Alfred that apartment. That has made Alfred as happy as I’ve seen him in years.”

Mother said, “Well, it’s all due to Abraham Lincoln.” Anet asked, “What does Abraham Lincoln have to do with Alfred getting his own apartment.” Mother said, “Why, don’t you know? He said, “Let my people go.”