It's their time to catch up on what's going on. On this day, at the end of her 10-minute talk, Engelbrecht reminds them that all units must be vacuumed daily. This elicits a couple of good-natured groans. There is a spirit of camaraderie here. It's not unusual for residents to baby-sit for each other when a parent has a doctor's appointment or a recovery meeting.
Every accomplishment is celebrated.
Of course, not everyone feels that way. Engelbrecht estimates that the dropout rate at Home Start is between 30 and 40 percent. Some leave before they've even been assigned a room. Wanda left last fall. She objected to a requirement that residents must sign over their paychecks to a sub-account and live on a monthly budget.