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[Slave to the Phone]

Not sure what happened with the title, but I ruined Thanksgiving AND Christmas today!!!

I am so proud, its only the 2nd of November and I got a twofer.

A female client was in today to renew her food stamps. While I was interviewing her, I learned that she had new income and that she and her 3 children were living with her parents rent and expenses free.

SNAP is an income based program. The more money you make, the fewer food stamps you get. You do get some allowances for living expenses, but bottom line is that I don't make the rules or even do the calculations.

As this woman used to be getting food stamps based on having 0 income, this changed dramatically. She flipped out!!!

SC: How am I supposed to feed my kids with that!!!
Me: explains the above and that SNAP means Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, including explaining what supplemental means.
SC: Well, I have to use my money to pay my bills! I have a huge car payment, car insurance and credit card bills and etc.
Me: I am sorry to hear that, but those are not allowable expenses.
SC: So, this means you are taking away my children's Thanksgiving meal, doesn't it?!
Me: thinking "I am soooo sure that your parents are going to eat their feast in front of you and your hungry children." Actually, I am not. You now have income, so are expected to start to pay your own money to feed your own children.
SC: WHAT! Does this mean it won't go back up next month?!?
Me: No. You are approved at that amount for the next 6 months. Please remember to bring you last 30 days of paystubs when you come for your next renewal.
SC: HOW THE F*** ARE MY KIDS GOING TO HAVE CHRISTMAS PRESENTS IF I HAVE TO SPEND MY MONEY ON FOOD!!!
Me: Do not curse at me. This interview is over, you will be getting a letter in the mail.
Hangs up.

I think someone else here won the Christmas award, but I deserve something for the twofer!

[RealUnimportant]

You're selling yourself short. If this judgement stands for the next 6 months then you've not only ruined Thanksgiving and Xmas, but also Easter!

[MoonCat]

Congratulations! Amazing work!

[notalwaysright]

Urg, so much entitlement. So you have income but aren't paying for rent or utilities and "can't" afford food. Yeah, okay. I'm just sobbing for you, sweetie.

[AccountingDrone]

Urg, so much entitlement. So you have income but aren't paying for rent or utilities and "can't" afford food. Yeah, okay. I'm just sobbing for you, sweetie.

I can remember being way underemployed, paid all my bills but applied for food stamps because I was left with a grand total of $5 US a week to eat ... but was denied because I owned my own car [but apparently making payments on a caddy was OK, but owning a Yugo outright was out.] I did a lot of fishing, as sea fishing at the mouth of the Lynnhaven Inlet didn't require a license as long as I was on the saltwater side of the bridge. I could also spend $2 on chicken necks and backs, a single buck for 24 hours access to the Lynnhaven fishing pier, spend my morning alternating between tending the crab nets, the fishing pole and napping - in 4 to 6 hours I typically filled my huge rolling cooler 3 to 4 times with fish and crabs, and trundled them off to the local fish market where I stacked them in their cooler and at the end of my fishing day I would end up with a bushel of crabs, 4 to 6 flat fish, and swapped the extras for stuff like cod, shrimp, lemons, butter, milk, heavy cream and bread crumbs and hush puppy 'mix' and occasionally they had stuff like onions, potatoes and whatnot that you might find in a beach crab boil/oyster roast. I could eat for the entire week that way. I would end up boiling and picking the meat out of the crabs, using the stock created by boiling the crabs and whatever else to make rice pilaf/paella/whatever, and turned random seafood into chowders and ciopinos.

Is this where I can do an imitation of someone who grew up during the depression and complain about kids nowadays?

[depression era cooking is all about the cheap eating and making due with little. There is a 'mock oyster casserole' that is slightly crushed ritz type crackers, shredded cabbage and onions, with a savory custard of 1 egg per cup of milk seasoned with salt and pepper and whatever herbs you have handy - typically parsley and thyme for me] and baked. Very tasty, and if you are living on a subsistance farm with chickens and a cow, very regularly rotated in the meal planning =) ]

[Slave to the Phone]

If I may hazard a guess, AccountingDrone? This was more than 10 years ago and you didn't have children. At first, SNAP was just for children and their families. Single adults were expected to be able to fend for themselves, so the eligibility requirements for them were much harsher. Things are better now.

While cars are still considered to be resources, they are no longer countable for food stamps. (Some rules are state to state, but the federal government lays down the basic guidelines that all states have to follow, so I feel pretty safe making that blanket statement without knowing what state you were in.)

Most of my clients are pretty understanding about how the program works, they know when they report new income, their SNAP will go down. There are only a few special ones who throw temper tantrums over it. (I actually had one 33 year old woman throw herself on the floor and start kicking and pounding at it. Before someone jumps in, no, there was no mental disorder, I just told her that making 100,000 a year is over income for a family of 3.)

[crazyofficeclerk]

Been there, done that. I have lost count of the number of times that I have had to explain the word Supplemental. I have been told that I have ruined their lives, their children's lives and they will now starve. Seriously? Get a grip. Maybe the first thing you did after getting that new job was not run out and buy a brand new car (had this happen one time). Yelling at me about your bad decisions does not make the rules any different. No it isn't because of (insert your made up reason either race, gender, age, sexual identity, dog name, etc). I don't make the rules, I just enforce them. Take it up with someone who has a higher pay grade than mine.

[Pixelated]

Not sure what happened with the title, but I ruined Thanksgiving AND Christmas today!!!

I am so proud, its only the 2nd of November and I got a twofer.

A female client was in today to renew her food stamps. While I was interviewing her, I learned that she had new income and that she and her 3 children were living with her parents rent and expenses free.

SNAP is an income based program. The more money you make, the fewer food stamps you get. You do get some allowances for living expenses, but bottom line is that I don't make the rules or even do the calculations.

As this woman used to be getting food stamps based on having 0 income, this changed dramatically. She flipped out!!!

SC: How am I supposed to feed my kids with that!!!
Me: explains the above and that SNAP means Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, including explaining what supplemental means.
SC: Well, I have to use my money to pay my bills! I have a huge car payment, car insurance and credit card bills and etc.
Me: I am sorry to hear that, but those are not allowable expenses.
SC: So, this means you are taking away my children's Thanksgiving meal, doesn't it?!
Me: thinking "I am soooo sure that your parents are going to eat their feast in front of you and your hungry children." Actually, I am not. You now have income, so are expected to start to pay your own money to feed your own children.
SC: WHAT! Does this mean it won't go back up next month?!?
Me: No. You are approved at that amount for the next 6 months. Please remember to bring you last 30 days of paystubs when you come for your next renewal.
SC: HOW THE F*** ARE MY KIDS GOING TO HAVE CHRISTMAS PRESENTS IF I HAVE TO SPEND MY MONEY ON FOOD!!!
Me: Do not curse at me. This interview is over, you will be getting a letter in the mail.
Hangs up.

I think someone else here won the Christmas award, but I deserve something for the twofer!

Have to admit, my first thought would be "And what are those credit card bills FOR, hmmmm ... ?" And yes, I do know that for people on tight budgets, cc's are often used to pay for necessities ... but her attitude of entitlement would've tended to make me think the worst.

*snip*

Is this where I can do an imitation of someone who grew up during the depression and complain about kids nowadays?

[depression era cooking is all about the cheap eating and making due with little. There is a 'mock oyster casserole' that is slightly crushed ritz type crackers, shredded cabbage and onions, with a savory custard of 1 egg per cup of milk seasoned with salt and pepper and whatever herbs you have handy - typically parsley and thyme for me] and baked. Very tasty, and if you are living on a subsistance farm with chickens and a cow, very regularly rotated in the meal planning =) ]

My maternal grandparents left me with a "cheap/comfort" recipe that would make the nearest dietitian throw themselves off the nearest bridge. It is literally 100% STARCH (extra-wide egg noodles, potatoes, and homemade croutons -- Grandma usually fried up the cubes of bread in bacon grease ....) We did used to eat canned peaches with it ... don't know why that in particular ... so there was at least a BIT of fiber in there. Let's pretend we don't see the sugar, LOL. The leftovers were often fried with an egg or two, so at least you got something reasonably nutritious by that time! IIRC, my grandfather also used to dump poppyseed over his share.

Been there, done that. I have lost count of the number of times that I have had to explain the word Supplemental. I have been told that I have ruined their lives, their children's lives and they will now starve. Seriously? Get a grip. Maybe the first thing you did after getting that new job was not run out and buy a brand new car (had this happen one time). Yelling at me about your bad decisions does not make the rules any different. No it isn't because of (insert your made up reason either race, gender, age, sexual identity, dog name, etc). I don't make the rules, I just enforce them. Take it up with someone who has a higher pay grade than mine.

I suspect a LOT of people don't read the fine print (or listen to it when it's being explained), so all they know is that they're getting free money. When there's a bump in the road ... they flip out.

Having said that, I did hear one appalling story of a woman here in Ontario who was struggling along on welfare. Her landlady told her that she'd reduce the rent a bit of the tenant would help out around the house. The tenant, being honest to a fault, reported this to her welfare caseworker ... and was promptly told that this counted as "extra" income and her welfare money would be reduced accordingly.

I am normally a reasonably "adhere to the rules" person ... but holy crap, after hearing that, I would SO not report a deal like that to my (hypothetical) welfare counsellor ...

[notalwaysright]

I took a look to see what kind of resources my town has, regarding foodbanks and such. There's a main location and two satellite locations. You don't need to show proof of income or anything, but there is a limit of twice a week. There is a pet food bank. There is a gleaning program, which surprised me, I'd only read of that from Biblical times, as a way for widows to support themselves. Here, people go and harvest the extra food and either it all goes to the foodbank, or you can keep some for yourself and donate the rest. Really cool program called Small Potatoes.

There are a decent amount of free hot meals for both Thanksgiving and Christmas which say "all welcome." If she's getting foodstamps I believe her kids are automatically getting free school lunches. (someone correct me if I'm wrong on that) But at the end of the day, Slave was just telling her what benefits she would be getting, it's not like Slave made the rules specifically to rob that particular woman of money. I know I was happy for whatever I qualified for, I don't have any kids so it wasn't a huge amount. And yes, I could have squeaked by without SNAP. But having a little extra cushion was very helpful so I didn't have to be soooo careful about each penny. I didn't get upset when I realized I would be making too much and the benefits would be cut off. That's just the way it works, sheesh!

[katzklaw]

You're selling yourself short. If this judgement stands for the next 6 months then you've not only ruined Thanksgiving and Xmas, but also Easter!

well... considering it's 6 months, there's a 50/50 shot per person in the family that a birthday has been ruined too... XD

[taxguykarl]

I think someone else here won the Christmas award, but I deserve something for the twofer!

Ruining multiple holidays is an accomplishment, alright.

[Pagan]

SC: HOW THE F*** ARE MY KIDS GOING TO HAVE CHRISTMAS PRESENTS IF I HAVE TO SPEND MY MONEY ON FOOD!!!

Umm...Oooookay...?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oVnrq-6GnY

[workerbee222]

I remember being under-employed and calling to ask about food stamps. I made too much each week to qualify, by something like five or ten dollars. The woman kindly explained that working an hour or two less per week would only mean about $25 per month in food stamps, anyway, and was I on unemployment? Turning down hours would mean I'd be disqualified for unemployment benefits that week. I didn't really care. I'd been a taxpayer for years, and just thought I'd call and ask, after all.

I did acquire a habit of not buying soda and other non-foods, though.

[Slave to the Phone]

Wow, considering the input from everyone, I was totally wrong. Seeing as my determination at the time was for 6 months, I have ruined Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Easter and considering the size of the family, at least 1 birthday, if not 2! When I rock, I TOTALLY rock!!!

Pixelated, I don't ask about credit card bills unless I know they use them to pay for living expenses. Seeing as how the SC in question wasn't paying rent, utilities or phone expenses, she must have "other" living expenses that I didn't feel like hearing about.

If someone is using their credit cards to pay for actual living expenses, I discuss ways for them to get help with them. I am not without heart, and I know about a lot of local sources of help that most people don't.

As to working in exchange for living expenses? We want to know about it, but the in-kind income is not countable out here.

Today, I got the client everyone dreads. Very nice person, birth year in the 40's and very confused about what is happening today. Every single question takes a painful amount of time to get an answer. They are always very nice, but not well centered as to time and place.

I knew things were going to be bad when she told me that she had never applied before and I could clearly see that she had applied and been denied as over-income in April of this year. When I mentioned that it would be the same process as when she was in on April XX, she said "I don't remember that."

She had and was applying for programs she was clearly not eligible for, but because everyone has the right to apply for any program at any time, I had to spend over 2 hours to deny her out for everything.

She was very nice and sweet during the whole ordeal and thanked me when we were done. She honestly didn't remember anything about the last time she applied, and had no idea that her last worker, as well as me spent more than a few minutes trying to find her husband's social security number (unsuccessfully) because it had "slipped her mind".

Very, VERY hard case because she was breaking my heart.

[Ironclad Alibi]

Wow, considering the input from everyone, I was totally wrong. Seeing as my determination at the time was for 6 months, I have ruined Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Easter and considering the size of the family, at least 1 birthday, if not 2! When I rock, I TOTALLY rock!!!

You left out Valentine's Day.