I had to take a neighbor of mine, who was about to be kicked out of his tiny fleabag apartment, a re-converted laundry room that I don't think was legal, because he got behind in his rent, to the Dept. of Soc. Serv. to apply for assistance. He got behind his rent because he was too sick to work. I dragged him again kicking and screaming to the VA hospital, because I knew he was a WWII vet. He was so messed up that they kept him in the hospital for a month.

In the meantime I was able to placate our landlord, who was not a dick when he understood the circumstances, until the first welfare check came in and the rent could be paid. Well, neighbor had cancer, but at least he got medical care and was able to live in his apartment between hospital stays until the end. But he was so ashamed of asking for help, and this was back in the seventies when there were safety nets, because he felt he needed to pay his way.

Our society so shames people for needing help.

Well done.

Those that end up needing help many times do not "look" the part. They also don't feel that they are, can be in need. They still have a home and a job, even a nice car. Yet many have found themselves fired and having to take a lesser pay job. They are scared that many would think they are "slackers" (and how many times have we heard the republican party push this stereotype?) and can not bring themselves to ask for help. It takes absolute need for them to finally come forward. All because of what they have been lead to believe.

Add to this new norm., the face of the homeless is changing and they to are scared of labels. Many keep trying to get back up without being a "Burden on Society" (republican propaganda machine again).


There are more people in need than the numbers say. I put the blame for them being in need and the fear to go for help directly on the conservative rights shoulders!

But in their case it's "different." It's not a handout, it's just a means to get through a hard time. They're not like those neegrows and messkins who just want "free stuff."

Oy.

The republican party still has a voting base in the poor. Yet they have gone out of their way to demonize the poor. Why do they keep voting for republicans and why do the republicans keep attacking them?

and just like the memes out there say "oh you have a cell phone AND use food stamps?" Like that is somehow NOT allowed, to have a computer, internet, basic cell service, etc. if you are poor. I have even had several people here on DU attack me for posting about my plight or poverty, and yet they say I am spoiled or "obviously not starving" because I have internet and a computer to post with. :eyeroll:

It's a sad state of affairs. The rich are beyond reproach, but the 99% are the scapegoats for EVERYTHING

Many I think want to keep it because they really are poor and really could use help. But they can lie to themselves till it is to late and they end up in a whole other category of poor. The homeless category, and that level of poverty is the hardest to clime out of.

If people in need get help before it gets real bad, they can recover. If they let pride run the show...

Of coarse with all the natural disasters going on, we have more that need major help to get up again to. So we need to loose ALL the stereotypes! It is a brave new world when it comes to the face of poverty.

are easier to manipulate. Why do you think Republicans push this meme so hard? They WANT desperate slaves.

It is as clear as day to anyone with their eyes open.

The whole idiotic "bootstrap" fairytale is about not asking for help, and of course this delusion underlies most discussions about how to achieve success.

Sadly, corporations are happy to demand every handout that they can get, while an actual person who is starving is made to feel like parasite and a villain when he or she accepts assistance.

The entire mentality needs to change, culture-wide.

I gave them money to pay for the full lunch price as part of their weekly allowance.
Now I'm wondering what they did with their "profits". Probably they spent the extra money on ice cream sandwiches or Dreamsicles,
just like I see my students doing these days.

there is a woman, single, on disability, who goes to 3 or 4 church food banks
(depends on the week, one week 3, one week 4.)
and hoards the food. so basically she is keeping others from getting the
help they need. that is the only issue I have. I understand someone
cuz once you are hungry, you want to make sure it doesn't happen again.

She is 86 years old. The workers are very respectful of those that sign up. They understand the embarrassment that haunts these poor souls.

Once she told me of a veteran that came in with his family. They needed help and had nowhere else to go.
The work is heartbreaking for my mom. She lives in a small town, yet they provide for many surrounding towns. The local market is very generous in the food donations that they provide.

It is the respect of these food pantries and their volunteers that makes things easier for those that need these services.

I applaud their work for their communities.

it is also very important that those of means DONATE to their local food pantry

only the assholes will judge you and who cares what they think - the people who donate to the pantry are people like YOU, people who CARE

and now I find myself working about 80 hours of overtime in March and April. I think I inherited her work ethic when she died and I'm thankful for it. She was a lifelong liberal democrat and a member of the letter carriers union until the day she died btw. She was also high up in the crisis line for battered women. I had to go out on calls with her occasionally. I think children learn a hell of a lot by observing their parents behaviors. I would go as far as to say that it is one of the primary mechanisms which ultimately determines how a child develops as an adult.

He would do anything when he needed to, like spreading tar on roads. He was a nurseryman by nature, but when times were tough, he did what he had to. Had a lot of mouths to feed. I think my whole family learned from that, or we're just older and have a work ethic. (And I say that being in the work force and seeing people who don't really want to work).

But there are some folks who work their tails off and can't get ahead; I hold nothing against them for needing help, and we should be willing to do that without repercussions, without these people feeling embarrassed or ashamed.

..... who would rather die than be on the "public dole," because of the stigma. Even those with hungry children. And there is still a class like this. I have often wondered how many of those folks there are that show up on no one's radar. It's the saddest situation I've ever seen in my life in the USA. If capitalism is so GD wonderful, why aren't there any jobs? I'll never forget Ronald Reagan in the 1984 gen election campaign shunning the poor. Saying they were lazy. That they are poor because they wanted to be. "Welfare Queens." Guilt by association. One rotten egg in the basket makes them all bad. So uncaring. So pompous. Even as a child, I couldn't understand why people thought they were better than someone else, when I knew we were all the same. "Poverty is the worst form of violence."~~ M. Ghandi

Well, the rich have never had a problem taking a handout, and they don't need it. How many times have they helped themselves to the American treasury after squandering millions? How many bankruptcies have the so-called billionaire, Donald Trump, been able to file courtesy of the American taxpayer? The average working class American is made to feel guilty- when hard times demand help. The wealthy don't feel guilt, they feel entitled.

WHen I met him in 2007 he was barely making ends meet. Refused to stay in shelters. Hated to be around homeless. Still there today.

I went to food pantries a couple of times when we literally had nothing to eat. They were VERY generous and we got some wonderful staples; onions, fresh fruit, pasta, peanut butter, bread, tuna, etc., enough to get us by until the next unemployment check came in. I've given to food banks for years and volunteered for our local one for awhile but never in a million years did I ever think we'd have to take advantage of their services. I was SO grateful they were there the couple of times when we needed them.