Crack House

Poyo leads a tough life. He has attempted to stop selling weed, but the 20 hours he gets on a weekly basis as a cook at an hourly rate of $8 makes it difficult for him to stay away from hustling. Making matters even more difficult is that Poyo doesn't have family to lean on financially. His mom and dad are around (albeit separated), but they're strapped financially. The money he earns, which amounts to $640 per month before taxes, is supposed to pay for rent, car insurance, and his cell phone.

Poyo enrolled here (Q Junior College) months after graduating from an Alternative High School. He's 19 years old. Poyo was excited about his major (Automotive Technology), but he had difficulty passing the remedial reading and writing classes that were necessary to begin working on cars. Eventually, he grew tired of struggling through courses that he felt didn't relate directly to his interest in cars. After barely passing our lowest level reading class, Poyo decided to enroll at the Universal Technical Institute (UTI).

On the surface, this was a great move since UTI didn't require that he pass English courses to work on cars. However, for a fifteen month Certificate program, UTI charges $30k. Whereas, the program he left costs roughly $5k per year. Since Poyo qualified for a full Pell Grant at Q Junior College, he didn't have to pay a dime for school. At UTI, Poyo was still eligible for the Pell Grant but since the cost was considerably higher, he also had to take out loans upwards of $20k.

In Poyo's defense, he sought tutoring and spent hours studying for reading and writing exams but his effort didn't yield the desired results. While considerably more expensive, UTI offered him a far more engaging program that met his needs academically. The cost, however, happened to be exorbitant. That's what lead him to my office randomly.

Poyo: Hey man. Can you write me a recommendation for this scholarship I'm applying for?
Me: Of course! I'm happy to do that for you. How much is it for?
Poyo: $1500. It's not that much, but every bit helps. That's what they told me.
Me: Okay. Yeh. Come back in a week and I'll have the recommendation done.
Poyo: I really appreciate it, man.
Me: So what's new?
Poyo: Me, man. I'm just livin. You know? I finally got my own spot so that's what's up. I don't have to live with my moms no more. A few problems here and there though.
Me: Like what?
Poyo: It's a crack house.
Me: How do you know?
Poyo: Because every morning I wake up there be lines of fiends in the hallway tryin to buy shit.