Daily writing prompt

What would you do if you won the lottery?

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The size of the lottery win makes a huge difference in what I would do with it.

Is it only big enough to pay off our debt and get us into a house of our own? Is it big enough to pay for the kids’ college? Is it big enough to start my dream?

My youngest kid has big dreams for her future. Those dreams include many years of college. That costs a lot of money. A lottery win would help me pay for that. The middle has her sights set on a university in Japan. The schooling costs are much lower, but they also have a whole host of other costs that come from living in another country. I would love to help her with those costs too.

My dream though, is something I have put a lot of thought into, without the research to back it up. This dream is something I came up with when I was around 10. Back then, it wasn’t as thought out, but it was the beginning of it.

For an assignment in fifth grade, I wrote a poem about homelessness. I wrote about how it must be hard for these people to get back on their feet because they couldn’t get jobs without addresses, but they couldn’t get addresses without jobs.

If I won a substantial lottery I would open a home for homeless people to get back on their feet. This wouldn’t be a shelter, it would be a home. I would provide a safe place to stay, with access to food and clothes. There would be a plan in place. They can’t just come to live there forever. There would be a program to be worked. This home would be for those who want to better themselves and get off the street.

The people who chose to work within our program could live there, rent-free for a time. There would be assistance to help with job searching and resume writing. We would have clothes for interviews. Because this program aims to help the members get on their feet and stable, they would not immediately be thrown out once they were employed.

Once a resident is employed, the goal is to transition them into paying bills. So we would start small. Work with them to pay their phone bill, and slowly add in bills from there. Eventually, they would be paying rent as well, so that they can become accustomed to working within their budget. Although, the rent they would be paying would be a controlled amount so that they could continue to save money. The timeline for residency would be somewhere between one and three years. The ultimate goal is that when they leave they can keep going and have a stable future.

I know this is a lot. I have been thinking about it for 30 years or so. I am aware that it would take a ridiculous amount of work and money. There is also a lot of research and red tape to get through. That is why it is only a dream that would only come to fruition if I were to win billions of dollars.

What would you do with your lotto winnings?