a solution to his transportation problem

One week ago, Ruben was eager to take whatever work he could get. At 23 years old he was facing eviction, hunger, and despair, and like many others who had come through the foster care system, he had no family to rely on if things became especially perilous.

Having endured a number of interviews, submitted scores of resumes, and made nearly one hundred inquiries, last week Ruben finally received his first job offer: a position as a stockroom clerk. He would work two four-and-a-half hour shifts per week at a pay rate of $8 per hour—he would gross $72 per week 

The retailer where Ruben was hired is located five miles from his apartment and requires two busses to get there when using public transportation (Ruben owns no car). But when Ruben received his first week's schedule, he learned that he would be starting at 4:00AM—a start time well before the busses begin running. At this point, what recourse did he have? Being so new to the employer, the last thing he wanted to do was jeopardize his position by complaining or trying to get his shift time changed. He would simply have to do whatever it would take.

On Friday, I let Ruben know that we could probably come up with a bike for him, but he was surprisingly hesitant to accept it. He said he’d get back to me.

Then on Sunday, he called me, telling me that he had come up with a solution to his transportation problem: he would get ready for work the evening before his shift, take the night’s last pair of connecting busses to the mall, then sleep next to the building of his employer until shortly before the start of his shift.

And yesterday, that is exactly what he did.