Low Income Smoking Addiction in America- Hazard

[TexasWolf06]

The dark side to cigarette smoking continues to affect those weighed down by the addiction that is caused by cigarettes, and tobacco companies are sworn each year to grossly benefit from the hardships of those victims that become addicted to their products. For me personally I have everything to invest when it comes to arguing how the tobacco companies have manipulated my mother’s life for the worse. Am I being bias when illustrating her fall from grace? Absolutely! She’s my mother and the first women I fell in love with, the first to do without asking and the first to love me unconditionally. But as the tobacco companies failed her, as have I as her only son.

My mother is a senior citizen because of her age, 71. She lives on an extremely fixed income that anyone in their right mind would not utter a thought of feeding a smoking addiction if it means taking food and medication off the list of vital everyday things a senior citizen with health issues needs in order to live. The frustrating thing about this rant is that the very medication that she takes in order to live. My dear mother isn’t just classified as a senior citizen, she is also disabled and wheelchair bond after suffering a life changing stroke that has left her unable to do for herself on so many different levels. Her addiction is forcing her to smoke when her mind and body are telling her to stop. She is choosing her addiction over life.

My mother’s health care attendant called me from my mother’s apartment one afternoon explaining if I was aware of my mother eviction statues from her apartment complex. I wasn’t and you can just imagine my concern and disappointment. The excuse my mother gave for not informing me of her eviction was that she didn’t want to worry me, as of today I would opt for being worried over being stressed out. Ultimately the corporate responsible for her eviction was her cigarette smoking even though when she signed her rental contract over eight years ago the complex was a smoking campus, meaning she can smoke in her apartment, but due to changes made by new management and new policies shadowed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) her complex was now considered a smoke free campus. Meaning my mother was no longer able to smoke in her apartment. During the complex resident meeting, management explained the changes and my mother being the spit fire she is argued the new policy which simple painted a big target on her back. My mother aware she should have conveyed this importance information to me, but that was not the case.

My mother ultimately becomes defiant and felt because she was able to smoke before policies came into effect she should be able to continue in her defiant ways and smoke away. All without ever uttering or mentioning a word to me during the many phone conversations we engaged in on a regular basis, even during our visits. She managed to hide the new policy changes for over a year and her eviction for over three months from me until it was already too late for me to offer a proposal to her complex management that she would comply with the new policy, just to keep her safe. The case workers there at her complex contacts me several times explaining to me if I was aware of my mother’s eviction, I explain to them I was just made aware of her eviction. I understand being a case worker for senior citizens living in a low income affordable housing is challenging, but my frustration with my mother’s case workers and management became even more frustrating after every call. The case workers would call every other day to explain to me how complex it is to locate affordable housing for my mother, placing an undue burden and pressure on me. This lead to a justified response by me to my mother’s case workers, if they were aware of my mother violating the new smoking policies required by HUD, why did they wait to explain to me, her only son, of her eviction and their concerns? The dilemma my mother is facing, other than being addicted to cigarette smoking, is that she is unable to live just anywhere because of her disability, being wheelchair bond, and due to her income. What is more challenging is she is not able to go and live just anywhere without being attached to so many life changing responsibilities. Anywhere my mother goes would require critical amenities that would cater to her disability, and the high traffic of people that would go along with her care and wellbeing. This is overwhelming for family and friends. Amenities and life changing responsibilities that cannot come easy just to anyone, including her only son with a family and single bathroom home. A bathroom that she is unable to take her wheelchair into because of the small size. We rent.

My mother was given several extensions on her eviction by the management, which means they are being sensitive to her needs and issues. After my mother and her attendant, case workers and I calling other low income housing apartments we have ultimately exhausted the recourses within the city limits of Austin. The city limits is crucial because of the public transportation my mother relies on to grocery shop and for doctors visits. I made several attempts to reach out to management; their response was to contact their attorney. This was a polite way of conveying we can’t help you. Nothing made me more livid when I told my mother not to sign anything and finding out they made her sign document after document because they were aware of her desperation and lack of housing as well as resources for my mother. Meaning the management exploited my mother’s insecurities and disabilities when they required her to sign documents that she wouldn’t sue. One of my mother’s case workers explained to me that once she had exhausted her remaining days of her eviction they would take her to the salvation army, this case worker also suggested that adult protective services (APS) agreed to this action. After speaking to APS they explain to me they never would or suggest such an action for someone with my mother’s disabilities. What this meant was that my mother would be homeless with no were to go. I have spoken to my mother on occasion about her health and safety, I have suggested a nursing home, but to my mother that would mean she would no longer have the financial ability to feed her cigarette smoking addiction. My mother’s statement is always the same; I am not ready for a nursing home. The truth is she was ready after her second fall, but her addiction is the only thing that persuades her in her decision making. So today my mother would rather live in a boarding house where she is more likely to fall victim, over the safety of a nursing home that has all the amenities to care for her and keep her safe. All because of her aggressive addiction to cigarette smoking that I believe has affected her mentally.

As my mother’s only child I feel hopeless that I have let my mother down. I don’t have power of attorney or legal guardianship over my mother, so my persuasion is without victory. I have outsourced help from family and friends, including presenting solutions to make life easy for my mother when suggesting her transition into a nursing home only to have her disregard every single attempt, all due to her known dependency to cigarette smoking. I hope my story helps just one person to understand that cigarette smoking addiction and its effect on others, such as family and friends. There are so many different warnings and hazards not promoted by cigarette smoking and its vicious addiction. Please stop the addiction that is profited by so many tobacco companies today, stop and think before cigarette smoking addiction disrupts your life for the worse. Don’t live in the moment; think ahead to the future consequences that have the ability to lead you to homelessness. It happened to my mother, it can happen to you.