PBS: Are Americans a Stingy Lot of People?

[daredtowork]

56. Right now it's impossible to find information

When I initially ran out of resources, I expected to find information on everything I needed at the Social Services offices. I expected to talk to a case worker who would help me find resources. Instead, after standing in an immense line, and waiting for my number to be called for many hours, I got to apply for two, and only two, government programs that I qualified for: General Assistance (a small voucher toward my rent) and food stamps. No one volunteered any information.

It took me 6 months or longer to find crucial resources. Some things it took me longer to find. There are some things I may never have found at all. On top of the months it takes to find resources, I had to plug into the time-line of the resource providers, which often involved several-month waits. For instance it took me 4 months to discover the Department of Rehabilitation - an important source of resources for me. Then I had to wait a month for their intake session. Then I had to wait to go through their application process - all in all, it took about 6 months just to get started in the DoR.

Think about it: Social Services certifies you as being "disabled" for 12 months at a time, but the DoR takes 6 months to get you on board and 2 months at a time to do anything...

Well, anyway, the whole system is horribly fragmented and made of fail. I've been trying to draw attention to the fact that the way things work now, the system literally drives people into homelessness, and I would speculate it produces mental illness as well. I know the former for a fact (it's built into the structure of rules) - I think the latter can be derived.