Okay, I admit I was inspired to do this after I watched Julie/Julia. Well, not write a blog exactly or learn French cooking, but to write down things that need to be heard. This seems like an easier way than writing the book I've been thinking about for years.
I've wanted to share what it is like being on the front lines of the war on poverty. For many years I have worked in a "welfare" office. I determine whether people can get public cash assistance (welfare), medicaid(not Medicare - that's through the Social Security office and has it's own story to tell) and food stamps (or SNAP) as it is cutely called now. I've seen the sad stories of people in need, I've seen people who work the system, I've see the druggies and the mentally ill, the elderly and the disabled. But I have also seen the way government programs don't seem to have a clue at times who they are trying to help or the reality of life in the poor lane. I'm hoping with this blog to get out some of the pent up frustration of working with a system that is bogged down in rules, restrictions and budgets that often work against the people they are trying to help.
This will be tricky because I don't want to breach any data privacy laws, so after I write this first post I will need to check if I have hidden my true identity behind something more substantial that a mask and a cape. So,
I will make this first (hopefully) post short. Here goes nothing!
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Your first posting caught my eye right away because of the title and the subject matter... of course I really care about the poor, but you also put in some tounge in cheek humor.
ReplyDeleteYour 2nd posting gave a great example of "How the State and Feds have no idea... or know but don't care" Poor old Fred...no wonder volunteers can be hard to come by. I like the part about the accident Emma had. You leave that to my over active imagination (evocative writing assumes the reader is on the ball and sometimes has a sense of humor).