Written in October 2026, drawing on my Facebook updates and comments from August 6–28, 2026.

On August 6, I posted a picture with a pretty simple message:

I have everything I need … Except a J.O.B. 😁 I am working on it

I could joke about it … but finding meaningful work was part of figuring out how I was going to get from temporary accommodations into a more stable life.

I wasn’t looking for a forty-hour-a-week corporate career. I was looking for a way to be useful, earn enough to contribute toward housing, and still have time for the community work that matters to me.

But here’s something I’ve learned from being on the wrong side of the poverty line:

Being poor is a second job you don’t get paid for …

I wrote that on August 13.

The appointments, the applications, the eligibility requirements, the constant need to keep track of what you’re allowed to earn and what assistance you might lose … all of it takes time and energy.

And none of that time shows up on a paycheck.

Finding work … then navigating the rules

By August 28, I was working part-time.

That day, I shared information about CalFresh’s general work rules, including a federal calculation based on 30 hours at $7.25 an hour.

Then I clarified in a comment:

I’m only working 16 hours per week ,,, but making more the $7.25 per hour … So I don’t need to reach 30 hours after all 😁 just more then $217.50 per week …

That’s how I understood the earnings alternative at the time. Eligibility rules can be more complicated than a single number, and this isn’t intended as benefits advice.

Still, it was an important moment for me. I was beginning to see a way forward that didn’t require me to work more hours than I reasonably could.

But moving forward also meant trying to understand a system in which earning money, qualifying for assistance, and paying rent all interact.

I wanted to work.

I wanted to pay my way.

And I wanted to keep the basic support that made it possible to get back on my feet without immediately falling behind again.

I was beginning to learn that getting a job was only one part of the challenge.

The next part was figuring out what happened to my benefits when I did.

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Related: And just to be clear … and I am ecstatic.

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My homelessness journey … chapter 12 of 17

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