I finally logged on and updated my profile. Blah, Blah...the world after school sucks as much as it did while in school. Only the suckiness happens on a full-time basis
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It's really, really intense. Essentially all homeless women in the city have to meet with me (or 2 other people) and do paperwork and somehow, to them, I become responsible with giving them housing. I can't even count how many women I've met with that have no income and yet expect money and an apartment to just be given to them the second they hit the door. Sorry, but free money and housing doesn't exist! And I work with a largely traumatized and mentally ill population so it's just not a good environment...from the stories to the behaviors to everything in between.
Plus I work second shift and that works out to be when the women are all in the shelter so my shift is the busiest. And I can work with busy! But now I'm being told that I'm getting complaints because while I'm doing intakes with people (my job!!) I'm not meeting other people's demands of answering retarded assed questions. So, now I have to interrupt the woman I'm meeting with and asking all sorts of sensitive questions to answer another person's question that I can 98% guarantee isn't going to be something they should be asking me in the first place. Basically I have to do the job of 3 people because we've enforced such a society of "me first" and "instant gratification" that the "women don't like when I make them wait" (My Boss, During my talking to).
It just fucking sucks. But the benefits are good. :/
Yeah, I've found that people who have never had to use public assistance think it is so easy to get tons of free money every month, and it really isn't. You have a better chance if you have kids and such, but when I had money problems, I could hardly get anywhere half the time. I was lucky to get the help I did. People always go, "Just go on Section 8," and seem to think you can walk in and out with it the same day. Nevermind the fact that in most places, they have a 2-3 year waiting list.
You would think if these women want housing and money help for nothing, they'd at least be willing to wait. I'm sorry they're stressing you out by being grabby.
The thing that irritates me is that a majority of our clients are repeats. Meaning they were helped in the past but didn't pay the rent and were evicted again. And a VAST majority of these women are on SSI. So they have income and food stamps, they just never learned how to pay for anything or the basic fact that they HAVE to actually pay for things.
It's different for the ones that are first-time homeless or in need of a little push, most of them are willing to wait and understand that things take time. It's the ones that we help over and over that get to me.
Today I did an intake with a woman that wasn't homeless. But left her husband because with his income and her pending SSI they would make $125 over the poverty limit and she wouldn't get her whole check. So she came to shelter with the sole purpose of scamming SSI and to tell them that she is divorcing her husband and is now homeless. Her husband is even her payee! WTF. I even told her that what she was doing is illegal..,her response, "It's my money, I should get all of it". No sweetheart, you shouldn't!
Section 8 in Cleveland is ridiculously. The waiting list is in the thousands. They held a lottery recently and allowed a bunch of new vouchers. It was pandemonium because everyone assumed that they should have been picked.
I can understand why that would be annoying. People on SSI who can pay their rent shouldn't need your kind of help; it should be there for people who don't have income and can't find anyplace else to turn. Otherwise, many people will screw up on purpose to get a free handout. Of course, as you said, some of them are mentally ill, and that's a little different because sometimes they don't truly have the mental facilities to always remember/manage to pay bills. But, after the things I've seen out of people in general, I imagine some of them live off your kinds of services because they just don't want to work or pay bills. It's unfortunate that some people are taught to live that way; it hurts those who really need a little help now and then.
How did you handle that lady? Did you have to process her application anyway?
Plus I work second shift and that works out to be when the women are all in the shelter so my shift is the busiest. And I can work with busy! But now I'm being told that I'm getting complaints because while I'm doing intakes with people (my job!!) I'm not meeting other people's demands of answering retarded assed questions. So, now I have to interrupt the woman I'm meeting with and asking all sorts of sensitive questions to answer another person's question that I can 98% guarantee isn't going to be something they should be asking me in the first place. Basically I have to do the job of 3 people because we've enforced such a society of "me first" and "instant gratification" that the "women don't like when I make them wait" (My Boss, During my talking to).
It just fucking sucks. But the benefits are good. :/
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You would think if these women want housing and money help for nothing, they'd at least be willing to wait. I'm sorry they're stressing you out by being grabby.
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It's different for the ones that are first-time homeless or in need of a little push, most of them are willing to wait and understand that things take time. It's the ones that we help over and over that get to me.
Today I did an intake with a woman that wasn't homeless. But left her husband because with his income and her pending SSI they would make $125 over the poverty limit and she wouldn't get her whole check. So she came to shelter with the sole purpose of scamming SSI and to tell them that she is divorcing her husband and is now homeless. Her husband is even her payee! WTF. I even told her that what she was doing is illegal..,her response, "It's my money, I should get all of it". No sweetheart, you shouldn't!
Section 8 in Cleveland is ridiculously. The waiting list is in the thousands. They held a lottery recently and allowed a bunch of new vouchers. It was pandemonium because everyone assumed that they should have been picked.
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How did you handle that lady? Did you have to process her application anyway?
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