The Poor Are People Too: Is Every Person on Welfare Trying to Milk the System?

A short while ago I had an unpleasant experience with a Family Independence Agency (FIA) employee. I am unhappy to say that the employee wasn't a pleasant person to interact with. In fact, her presence as a whole was enough to make any individual feel either self-conscious because of their current economic situation or less of a person.

Please, ma'am, may I have a little help?

The short time I was there was agonizing! When I arrived at the empty agency with my toddler, we stood in line for a ridiculous amount of time waiting to be called by one of two women who felt that their conversation about mundane events should have precedence over a family in need of food assistance. Heaven's forbid if your time was just as important as their conversation! To be very honest, I felt as if we were purposely being held in line (we were the only people in line) just for the fun of it.

Staring with an underlying expression of "please call on me" with a smile did not flatter them at all. We had to wait and wait some more until one of the women finally decided to turn their entire body in our direction instead of looking at us out of the corner of their eye. "May I help the next person in line!" she shouted. Finally!

After signing in and having a seat in the waiting room, I recited inspirational thoughts and scriptures to myself because I was declaring a blessed day. Although I was in a situation where help was needed, I was still going to praise God every chance I got. Thoughts of finally having some extra money to feed a growing child became a focal point. Just then my name was called and my case worker stepped into the lobby. Taking a deep breath, I forged ahead.

Filled with the utmost humility as I sat before her presenting every piece of document that she personally requested responding with "yes, ma'am" and "no, ma'am" did not phase her a bit. It did not matter that I was educated, a Christian, a mother, an American citizen, a daughter, a wife, a sister, or even a humble servant of God. None of those mattered to her. All that mattered to her was my presence in that building and her preconceived beliefs that I simply wanted to milk the federal system (she mentioned that the federal government does not want citizens living off the system as she labored through our interview).

Say what?

Milk the federal system? I can assure you that one of the things I never aspired to do as a child growing up was milk the system. In fact, my answer to one of the most common questions asked as a child "What do you want to be when you grow up?" never received a response of, "Oh, boy! What do I want to be when I grow up? I want to live off of the federal government and milk the system of every red penny there is!" Being the die-hard individual that I am, you would have to carry me out of a job bound and gagged. Money is a necessity because cars and houses are not free. So please do not preach to me about the federal government desiring to get people off the system when unforeseen circumstances have forced me to come to you for assistance!

How did the rest of the interview go? Like an assassination. Although the documents she requested were sitting in front of her, she continued to ask questions that simply required a review of one document or another. Her questions were becoming redundant and her patience was wearing thin. It was obvious that she was a little annoyed by my case and simply did not want us there. I had to direct her several times to the documents sitting before her and inform her of a few repeat questions that were already answered.

In the eyes of others

I have concluded that the perception of people who are not doing as well as others financially isn't very flattering. It is automatically assumed that the person who is struggling financially has chosen to live that way purposely. "They can do better than that" one may think and they may even turn their noses down on them when they use WIC coupons or an EBT card at the check out counter. According to the America's Second Harvest The Nations Food Bank Network (onebigtable.nationsharvest.org) 14,812,000 people in the United States are members of the working poor families. Also, one of the biggest reasons why working poor families are not applying for food assistance from the government has to do with the stigma placed on them.

I have often wondered if individuals who are sitting on the other side of the fence ever wondered that some people who are on the system may not have a desire to be there. Some of them may have a tinge of embarrassment and frustration because of their financial situation. Believe it or not, there are some individuals who wake up everyday with a die hard mentality determined to do something to make their current situation better. Next time, try to think of how that shoe could be on the other foot, because it could happen any day to any of us.