Longtime D.C. welfare recipients prepare for life off the rolls

The Washington Post ^ | Monday, December 20, 2010; 9:47 PM | Ian Shapira

[TSgt]

Navida Joy knows she needs to liberate herself from the District's dole for good. The divorced mother of three has been receiving city welfare checks on and off for six of the past 10 years.

But Joy, who gets about $430 a month in welfare checks and $440 in monthly food stamps, supports a controversial plan by the D.C. Council that would slash her benefits and those of other long-term welfare recipients.

"The council's move is the right idea, but there are a lot of people out there who depend on it and need welfare," said Joy, 28, who lost her bartending job at T.G.I. Friday's in August and takes medical coding classes at a local trade college to find work. "Right now, I am facing eviction because I can't pay my rent. I'm not as motivated as I should be. I've been dealing with a divorced family. But I am trying. I plan on getting off welfare and not begging for money."

[SJSAMPLE]

Sounds reasonable, but many people resist medication.

Imagine requiring treatment before any public benefits. The Left would go insane, as free room and board are a Constitutional RIGHT, dontchaknow?

[kearnyirish2]

I don’t know; the biggest problem they will encounter is that they will have “reasonable” salary expectations that just aren’t reasonable any more (from a company’s standpoint); anyone I know who has lost a job and gotten another has taken a salary (and benefit) reduction. Companies who pass these candidates over for a job are foolish; they often have better skills then younger (cheaper) workers, and would probably appreciate the opportunity more. Any companies that generalize so about this wave of unemployed risk missing some real talent.