For the record, I am required to spend fifty-three hours a month at the Department of Family and Children's Services (DFCS) in order to get two hundred and seventy-four dollars in food stamps for myself and my wife. Under normal circumstances, my wife and I would share this load, however my wife is unable, for medical reasons beyond her control, to participate, and therefore I am forced to "work" her hours as well as mine.
On occasion I have had the chance to do some filing in the downstairs vaults, however I discovered that the entire system was completely disorganized: many files were misplaced and the supervisors had no time to re-file and re-organize them. This work should be done by regular, full-time employees and should definitely not be left to people who are either unskilled or who have little incentive to do the job correctly. There are many people on welfare and food stamps and if their file is lost or misplaced they could lose their benefits through no fault of their own.
I don't want to give the impression that the DFCS doesn't offer any help at all: the job resources room at least allows access to a computer and help from the Department of Labor, and lists jobs that are available at the DFCS. However, there is only so much time you can spend doing so (computer use, for example, is limited to one hour a day), the great bulk of the time is spent being idle, and if I need to use a computer, I could use the computer at home or at the library.
So, after careful consideration, I have decided that I will no longer suffer myself to be humiliated and degraded in this fashion. As it currently stands, the "work experience" program is little more than a part-time prison sentence. The people who are forced to sit in this room are treated like children, and it is my considered opinion that the entire program is meant to humiliate people into finding work. I am fully aware that by writing this letter I will in all likelihood lose my food stamps, but frankly I think I would rather starve than to submit myself to this any further. Even what little dignity I have left is not worth losing over two hundred and seventy-four dollars a month in groceries.
I want to make it clear that I am not looking for "something for nothing", especially since my taxes, when I was working, paid for the food stamp program to begin with. If the DFCS can find a better way to move people from food stamps to the workplace, I will be very happy to participate. I cannot speak for others, but for myself I will say that my time would be better spent in the pursuit of work and not in the enforced idleness of the "work experience" program.
I should add that the program as it stands is a burden on the DFCS as well, putting them in the position of babysitting people and taking them away from other work that undoubtedly needs to be done. I also do not understand why DeKalb County is the only county that forces its food stamp recipients do participate in this charade, and I am sending copies of this letter to my state Representative and to Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney so that they can be aware of what is happening in their districts. I think the entire program as it currently stands is a disgrace and the people who came up with it ought to be ashamed of themselves.
I do not expect DeKalb County to change it's stance on this issue. In this cold-hearted world, punishing the poor is simply accepted behavior, and I don't see this attitude changing any time soon. I hope that I find work soon, and I hope that I never again have to rely on food stamps. I wish this not only for myself but for everyone else. It's humiliating enough having to apply for food stamps to begin with, it's worse being treated as if I were somehow breaking the law.
Sincerely,
Joseph Vecchio