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2 schrijnende gevallen bijstand USA/DK
henk - 24.02.2002 13:06
2 schrijnende gevallen
de verhalen hieronder horen bij deze link.
 http://www.icomm.ca/workfare/
het loont zich om ook het vervolg van Julie Star te lezen. Ze doet werk alleen om mensen inde bijstand bezig te houden, werk om werk dus, terwijl ze op haar eigen manier probeert verder te komen
Eerst een deens geval
Draft overview of my own welfare case in Denmark, 1988-1997
April 1989, benefits cut from 6000 to 5200 Dkr. per month despite 1/3 of the amount being equivalent to an interest free loan to cover mortgages (which I am paying back out of a lousy pension now). Managed the cut by getting my food from dumpsters for a few months and making economic adjustments like terminating my home insurance. Lost the appeals case.
January 1990, coverage for mortgages for the month not transferred to my bank account by the welfare office, allegedly due to a computer system malfunction. Despite several complaints from me the amount wasn´t paid until February 1991, and then *I* was blamed for the incident, because social workers alleged that I had agreed to fetch the money at their office myself in January 1990. Which is a lie, I never made any such agreement and would have refused, if it had been suggested to me, because I needed the money on my bank account *for mortgage payment 3 months later* anyway.
January 1990, threatened in a letter from the social worker that I would lose my benefits if I didn´t show up for an appointment to let them "help" me make my plans for my own future "realistic." I was 44 years old and had spent 25 years on the labor market prior to getting on welfare in 1988, 17 years in the same job, so I would hardly begin to make *unrealistic* plans for my own future as middle-aged! Prepared myself for a fight with the whole system by getting food from dumpsters, etc.
May 1990, benefits stopped, because I had refused to have anything to do with the social workers on their conditions.
July 1990, a psychiatrist involved in the case without my knowledge or consent by the primary social worker, because she wanted to know what was "wrong" with me, and how she should "tackle" me. I knew nothing about this until 4 years later. The statement from the psychiatrist had nothing whatsoever to do with psychiatry, it was an attack on my "personality type" in order to whitewash the municipality in the case (i.e. her own employer!) and contained the most insane, ridiculous, insulting and lying nonsense I had ever in my life heard or read about myself.
August 1990, benefits resumed, because social workers in their own words in the case concluded that they were "getting nowhere" (with me, of course).
January 1991, lost appeals case at the appeals board. The board, among other things, insinuated that I had tried to commit welfare fraud by insisting on the mortgage coverage for Janary 1990 on the implied grounds that I had proved I hadn´t needed the money by surviving not getting it.
1992-93, appeals case at the ombudsman office, lost the case.
1993, application for legal aid for a court case against the system; the request denied. Turned down by a few lawyers as well.
January-September 1994, fraudulent taxation of benefits by the welfare office, totalling 7000 Dkr. Got the amount in September.
1995-1996. Threatened with a form letter every third month that I would lose my benefits within a week, if I didn´t fill in the form and return it to the welfare office. Which I didn´t.
September 1995, letter from the municipality´s social services committee that I would be transferred to an early retirement pension without my participation and would hear from the social workers, when they had finished the paper work. Despite that they continued to send me the threatening form letters until late 1996.
September 1995, a new psychiatrist involved in the pension case without my knowledge or consent. This psychiatrist, however, refused to comment on the case at all. Knew nothing about this until mid-1997.
February 1997, lost benefits for the second time due to my total boycott of the whole system and refusal to tell them anything or document anything ever again.
According to explanation from the municipality in the appeals case my pension papers had been "disappeared" since September 1995 due to an employee leaving her job. No documentation in the case to confirm the existence and guilt of the alleged employee. Fact remains that the social workers had claimed since July 1990 that I probably couldn´t return to the labor market again and therefore was entitled to a pension (which I didn´t want, I wanted my right to go through with my own plans for my own future), and that they nevertheless took the welfare benefits from me 1 1/2 year *after* having initiated preparations for a pension.
April 1997, payments resumed and benefits for 3 months paid by the welfare office (normally such benefits are lost forever).
June 1997, transferred to an early retirement pension, which is reduced by my welfare debt for mortgages until I am 72. If I live that long...
Subject: The Real Effects of Welfare Reform
Date: Mon, 15 Sep 1997 22:17:40 -0400
From: Julie Star
To:  president@xxxxx.xx
Mr. President,
This letter comes to you as a plea for fairness and human decency. My name is Julie Star. I am a full-time second year honors student at Terra Technical College, Fremont, Ohio working towards two computer associates´ degrees. I am also a TANF, Food Stamp, Medicaid and Child Care recipient. I am writing to you Mr. President because of my concerns with the new Welfare Reform Law scheduled to go into effect October 1, 1997. Recently I received notification from the Sandusky County Department of Human Services that effective October 1, 1997 all recipients must work thirty hours (30) per week in order to be eligible for assistance. Full-time students are able to substitute school hours for ten (10) of these hours.
I understand that due to Welfare Reform, some changes are expected and necessary. However, these extreme measures being taken without thoroughly investigating the ramifications on the human side are defeating the very purpose the law was designed to achieve. This law is hurting people and the people it is hurting the most are the little people. I have two children Mr. President. One is a 14-year-old boy named Jason who is becoming more of a young man everyday. He´s a great kid but because of this new law he´s getting dumped on. You see Mr. President, because mom has to spend so much time in Workfare hours, at school, and doing homework Jason has been forced into the role of the man of the house. He now has to cook the meals, do laundry and help with his 4-year-old sister Jeannette among other things. In order to keep up my grades so that I don´t have to pay back my PELL and OIG grants I have to spend literally every waking moment studying. As an example, I got out of school at 3:00pm yesterday. I had to pick up Jenny at Day Care and head right home to study. Even with staying up until 4:00am to study, I was still not prepared for my class tonight and this is only the fourth day of classes. I ended up getting about one and a half hours sleep before I had to be up at 6:00am to get Jason up for school, get Jenny ready to go back to Day Care, and still have myself ready to leave the house by 7:15am. I arrived at Hospice to start my Workfare hours at 8:00am and didn´t leave there until 4:00pm. When I left I had to rush and get gas so I could head back to my hometown (because I have to go out of town to get to my Workfare site) ran home to change clothes, refilled my coffee cup (because who has time to eat), said hi and bye to Jason who was going to spend yet another evening home alone (not the thing to do too often at that impressionable age) and flew to the college to make a 5:15pm class. After class let out at 8:10pm I picked up Jenny at Day Care and finally got to come home. When I finish this I will go back to studying and do so until my eyes no longer stay open. I´ll be up at 6:00am to start my Workfare hours all over again. I am already exhausted Mr. President and I haven´t finished my first week of classes yet.
Jason wonders why, with everything else I have to do, I am using some of my time to fight this new law. He says, "You´re just wasting your time mom the government will just do what it wants to anyway." I guess Mr. President that that is enough reason to fight even harder to try to get this madness stopped. What are my son and so many others learning about this country when he sees his mother in tears in utter frustration because she can´t keep her eyes open to finish her school work. He´s angry Mr. President and I don´t blame him.
If people are going to school full-time they should be allowed to use that schooling to fulfill all their Workfare requirements. I already have an associates´ degree in electronics but because there are no electronics positions available in my area I was forced to retrain. I completed my first year in two computer degrees last year. I had the opportunity to finish those degrees this year but the new Welfare Reform Law put a stop to that. I would have had to take 4 classes this quarter and next quarter with 3 left for spring. I can´t take that many classes and work with kids. I did that last spring and got 7 hours sleep in 4 days. Why is it Mr. President that the Federal and State Governments are willing to pay for my education but are unwilling to give me the time to attend? I want my life back. I want to finish my education and get back to being just a normal taxpayer like everyone else. This is going to cost me an extra year on the programs. I ask you is this what the new system is designed to accomplish?
My 4-year-old daughter Jenny is so beautiful and so precious. How do I explain to her when she is crying and wanting mom to play with her or read her a story that mom has to stay up all night and study? How do I make her understand that mom has no choice but to go to work or we will have no money or food and she won´t be able to go see her ear specialist because we won´t have medical coverage. How do I make her understand that mom can´t stay home from school and play with her and that she has to spend 12 hours in Day Care or mom will have to pay back her grants.
Someday Mr. President, someone will ask those of us on the programs how to get us off and if they really listen to the answers then true welfare reform may begin. I am working with a woman in Maryland who is working up a proposal to have recipients conduct a completely anonymous survey of recipients. Those conducting the survey could use the time as their Workfare hours. People being interviewed would feel more comfortable giving honest answers to another recipient. I´ll bet the results of this survey would vary greatly from any other because it would be the real story of what is going on out there and how people are really being affected by these changes.
Thank you for your time Mr. President. I know you are as busy as I am. Please try to do something about this. Let this countries college students finish college so that we may again become productive taxpaying citizens. Give us our lives back!
Sincerely,
Julie Star
 Website: http://anaisnin.cjb.net
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| aanvullingen | | | de oplossing | arbeider - 24.02.2002 18:04
Tja, daar zit maar een ding op en dat is een eigen inkomen! Je zelf zo nuttig maken dat mensen voor je aanwezigheid willen betalen, omdat je iets bijdraagt, niet omdat je zielig bent.
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