My Personal Experience of Being on Welfare.
There has been lots of media about those who are on the present
day welfare system and it isn’t good. With
anything dealing with many people and the views and culture for each
one you will have good and bad things come out of it. People are getting
on the bandwagon to denigrate people who have no choice in using such a fine
system. To those who shun others or spread that all those who are on
welfare are drug addicts or an alcoholic that is simply untrue.
They haven’t a clue. There is something really wrong with that. It
puts a negative light on that and causes more shame and guilt for
those who might have to use that system at some point in their lives.
Most do not or haven’t ever entertained the thought of asking for help like that.
Most people are brought up to do for themselves and are expected to do so at
all times in their lives. Many of us don’t go looking to do that.
I, for one, would be homeless and on the streets if it weren’t for
my parent’s and that Welfare System many years ago. Never in my wildest
thought did I think I would end up there. I am thankful for all those who
pay taxes to help subsidize this program. I was not and have never been
a drug addict, an alcoholic or anyone who uses others for my needs.
Needs, not wants. There is a big difference in that. Everyone needs
certain things to live in this world. The main ones are Shelter and Food.
I was about to find out what these two were up close and
personal many years ago.
Just like everyone else I had a great family and needed nothing.
That wasn’t to last as troubles came into our relationship and I kind of saw
the ending but tried as I might I never thought that I would have to9 even ask
for a place to live or go about getting food for my very needs. Oh I had
a job after the split and had a semi-reliable place to live but it wasn’t want
was supposed to happen when I got told that I would need to find a place to
live in 2 weeks’ time.
Homelessness loomed over me like a big black cloud. I never thought that I would be in this position. I had a job there, but I didn’t know many people and didn’t want to ask them for my room and board. I didn’t know anyone that well. It was a very scary time in my life and never ever dreamed that this would happen to me. It was surreal and I just wanted to wake up form this horrible nightmare. My parents took their vacation home off the market so that I would have a place to live. They didn’t charge me rent, but I had to pay for my own utilities and food and other needed things. I was doing well until I had a medical problem that forced me into the hospital for 2 units of blood and my supervisor thought that I didn’t want to work at all. We had a conference call one day and there was a lawyer as the third party. This supervisor hung up on both of us and the case was dropped. Oh I let the supervisor know about my health problems and how I had to take care of them. He was not a people person. So that threw me more into a scarier place when I found that I also did not have a job. I had no idea how I was going to survive without a job and no social security. I didn’t qualify for that anyway. There I sat in my parent’s vacation home. My youngest daughter came to live with me but I wanted to support her and me and get a life. I didn’t want to depend on anyone else for my livelihood. I didn’t want to go to the Welfare Department. That was furthest from my mind. I surely would get a job, but knew no one around this new place.
Homelessness loomed over me like a big black cloud. I never thought that I would be in this position. I had a job there, but I didn’t know many people and didn’t want to ask them for my room and board. I didn’t know anyone that well. It was a very scary time in my life and never ever dreamed that this would happen to me. It was surreal and I just wanted to wake up form this horrible nightmare. My parents took their vacation home off the market so that I would have a place to live. They didn’t charge me rent, but I had to pay for my own utilities and food and other needed things. I was doing well until I had a medical problem that forced me into the hospital for 2 units of blood and my supervisor thought that I didn’t want to work at all. We had a conference call one day and there was a lawyer as the third party. This supervisor hung up on both of us and the case was dropped. Oh I let the supervisor know about my health problems and how I had to take care of them. He was not a people person. So that threw me more into a scarier place when I found that I also did not have a job. I had no idea how I was going to survive without a job and no social security. I didn’t qualify for that anyway. There I sat in my parent’s vacation home. My youngest daughter came to live with me but I wanted to support her and me and get a life. I didn’t want to depend on anyone else for my livelihood. I didn’t want to go to the Welfare Department. That was furthest from my mind. I surely would get a job, but knew no one around this new place.
I did suck up my pride and went to Welfare and at least I did get
some medical assistance for my daughter. My ex was giving me money for her
and found out that they told me that I made $1.00 (yep exactly and no kidding)
more and did not qualify for anything more. It was a sticky problem and
that is behind me now. Through the Department of Health and Human
Resources I found a good program and it is connected with the Welfare
System. Without that I would have been homeless. I was and still am
a good person. It was very difficult for me to go to the Welfare
program because of all the negative propaganda that people put out about
things they have no idea about. I wish they would stop.
There was a program called Displaced Homemaker and it was also
connected with the Welfare programs. That was a godsend. Let
me tell you how many amazing women were in that program when I came to be in it
too. Not one of them were alcoholics, drug users or looked like
that. They were all brought together much in the same way as my situation
took me. On this program I had a few programs that I could have gone
through. If it weren’t that I need a job so bad I would have
taken the 4 year college route. Being as that I had to get
a job ASAP I went through a secretarial program that lasted 18
months. I put all my effort into graduating from that. It was very
hard with finally getting ajob and a car that broke down every week and
raising a daughter on my own. I did it though and I ended up on the
Dean’s List. Not one of us out of about 100 women mis-used the
Welfare System and I can’t remember anyone who went through Welfare when I did
that mis-used the program either.
Find out what the NEW elegiblility Requirement are to get Welfare here: State Funding Requirement Under The NEW Welfare Law This is the whole and each state has slightly different requirements.
For households in the 48 Contiguous States and the District
of Columbia October 1, 2014 through September 30, 2015. To get SNAP benefits,
households must meet certain tests, including resource and income tests:
- Households may have $2,250 in countable resources, such as a bank account, or $3,250 in countable resources if at least one person is age 60 or older, or is disabled. However, certain resources are NOT counted, such as a home and lot, the resources of people who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI)…..
- Most households must meet both the gross and net income tests, but a household with an elderly person or a person who is receiving certain types of disability payments only has to meet the net income test…….
- The amount of benefits the household gets is called an allotment. The net monthly income of the household is multiplied by .3, and the result is subtracted from the maximum allotment for the household size to find the household's allotment. This is because SNAP households are expected to spend about 30 percent of their resources on food……
- With some exceptions, able-bodied adults between 16 and 60 must register for work, accept suitable employment, and take part in an employment and training program to which they are referred by the local office. Failure to comply with these requirements can result in disqualification from the Program…..
Before you spread propaganda about things which you have not
experienced or learned of yourself just pass it by and not spread the lies.
You don’t know what you are doing and how it hurts those who need this
program. If you see or know of someone that may be on the Welfare System,
instead of degrading them, ask them how you could help. It may be as
simple as sitting down and listening or a free lunch or support
searching. There is a saying about giving fish but the greater is
teaching how to fish for themselves. This economy is so bad these days
that these situations are becoming more the norm than not. What can you do
to help spread love instead of shame and guilt? Turn it around. It
begins with you.
