Gross Stuff & Ranting

[AriGriffin]

Since I lost my job in late October I have had no luck finding another job. Due to my back, I can't stand for the length of time that I had been at my previous job. I've applied for food stamps and unemployment but was rejected on both. I have sent in papers for respective hearings. I don't have any money coming in. I have tried selling my stuff on Craigslist and put up fliers advertising pet and babysitting services. Spam is the only thing I have recieved so far.

I haven't been doing well lately. I had a cold, but thanks to some OTC meds it is mostly gone. My teeth are hurting, but they always do during the winter (fillings sensitive to cold). I'm using Sensodine and it makes pretty much everything I eat taste like it.

Now I think I am getting an abcess in my left cheek (mouth). It isn't in my gums and I can feel a knot if I pinch my cheek. It doesn't really HURT, it is just more of a pressure on that side of my face. I don't know what to do. I don't know if I can do something to make it go away on its own or if I need to see a doctor or a dentist. I don't have insurance and I am pretty much broke. I have less than $25 to my name. My family can't help me. I have tried calling a local healt care center to see if they know of anyone that would see me for free or for very, very cheap. They didn't answer so I left a message on Thursday and Friday. I'm going to try again later on.

I can't go to the ER. The last time I went they told me upon check out that the next time I came to the ER, I would have to pay $300 cash, credit, or debit when I checked out if I didn't have insurance.

All this stuff has been making me depressed and apathetic but there isn't anything I can do because the local free mental health care center shut down. The next closest free center will not see me because I live in another county.

[Plaidman]

Gah. That really sucks right now. I honestly can't think of anything. You listed just about every option you might do that I can think of. Have you done the annoying bugging deal for jobs? You know where you do ask if they gotten your application. Would they like another one. Are they still hiring. Yadda yadda, as you really have to get yourself noticed for most jobs. I must have filled out 12 applications, and begged the hell out of two managers, and finally walked two miles through a winter storm, just to get an application at one store, and bring it to a different store, before the area manager finally realized that hey, I might want a job.

But. Good luck. Really. I do hope something works out. Keep everyone updated.

[elsporko]

Some advice:

1- Contact the Department of Human Services again. Make sure they know you have no income. If you are denied for rental assistance, food assistance, or cash assistance, make sure to get it down in writing. Unfortunately if you are a non-senior male without a child you likely won't qualify for anything, but whenever you are denied services get it in writing. Some agencies require proof of denial from other agencies.

2- Ask the DHS worker for a list of other agencies that might be able to help you. If they won't try contacting a St. Vincents, Salvation Army, or any other charitable organization you can. Even if they can't help you they might send you to somebody who can.

3- If your back is really bad you may be eligible for disability. I would suggest looking into that.

4- Some heating companies won't turn off services in the winter. Its best to pay the bills of course but if worse comes to worse you may be able to depend on the extra time.

5- Depending on your age you may be able to get back on your parents insurance. This pretty much depends on you being under 25 and your parents having really good insurance.

6- If it comes down to being evicted make sure your landlord goes through all the legal proceedings, rather then just telling you to get out. The process takes about a month which will give you time to get prepared.

[AriGriffin]

I live with my mom. She pays for the house, car insurance, gas for the car & house, medical bills, and her medicine. I would pay for the electric/water/trash bill, phone/internet, and groceries. She will loose her job in May. Unemployment would barely cover the house and electric/water/trash. She is planning on going back to college for early childhood development and wants to open a daycare. I am trying to go back to college but I am getting the run around with the financial aid office.

Social Services, Employment Security Commission, and all the rest are 20+ miles away. I don't have access to transportation until 4pm. There isn't a bus service and we only have one car which Mom uses for work. It takes at least 30 minutes to get there and it costs $5 in gas there & back. I get the run around when I call SS & don't call us, we'll call you with ESC (I asked the woman how would she be able to call me if my phone was shut off and she hung up on me). All the places SS refered me to are tapped out- I live in one of the if not THE poorest counties in my state.

My phone/internet was shut off earlier today. I had to use the nearby pay phone to beg my grandpa to loan me the money to turn it back on. If I could go without it, I would but I use it to try to find a job and for contact to employers & for Mom's doctor appointments. The local 'library' doesn't have internet and that nearby pay phone is a mile away.

I have had an idea for a craft business for a while now. I just wonder if it is worth writing up a business plan and going though the process of trying to get a loan when I know they are going to turn me down. All I would ask for would be enough to pay to get my business valid and for entry fees into a few of the local events where my crafts would fit in. I have a ton of supplies.

I have to attend college to be on Mom's dental insurance. She dropped me from her medical because it was too expensive.

It is just... every time I think something good is going to happen I end up hitting a brick wall. I want to go back to work but the only place hiring is Pizza Hut and I can't physically meet the demands.

[Food Lady]

Ari, I wish I had some great advice, but all I have is commiseration. I have a back problem too, but I'm guessing not as serious as yours. I just cannot understand why you aren't eligible for services, but would that change in May? Do they look at the total household income?

[AriGriffin]

They looked at my household's total income when I applied for SNAP benefits. Before taxes Mom makes a little over $1,800. After taxes it is just under $1,200. I used to take home an average $350 a month at my old job.

House- $456.00
Car Ins- $40.00
Medicine- $40.00
Medical Bills- $50.00
Gas House- ranges $20-300 a month
Gas Car- $120
Electric/Water/Trash- ranges $170-$400 a month
Phone/Internet- $75

We don't go to the movies, have antenna tv, don't go shopping, or eat out. I cancelled Netflix after I lost the job. The only time I go out is when I go to the library.
I do have pets though. I am facing the possibility of having to surrender them to the shelter. I had to give up my golden retriever mix and my doberman mix when Mom and I had to move in with one of my aunts and it darn near killed me. I am looking into fostering another pet in exchange for pet food for everyone else through a local shelter's program. My pets provide companionship and protection. I live in a rough section of town. The two dogs have protected me when they scared off a man that was trying to break in to the house one morning. The pets are up-to-date on shots and the dogs have six months worth of heartworm pills left. They are okay on food for now thanks to coupons and bogo sales but it is going to run out eventually.

[elsporko]

Heres a couple of links for government cell phones

https://www.safelinkwireless.com

https://www.reachoutmobile.com

I haven't recommended them to any clients yet, so I don't know much about the programs, but from what I understand part of it is so people who lose their landline can still get calls from potential employers.

[RavenStarr]

Ari I just looked on NC DSS food and nutrition page. According to the income chart, you and your mom should be able to recieve foodstamps. If you can run a copy off and show it to them.

Sadly this doesn't surprise me. I would say more about what I think about NC DSS/SSC but I don't want to get into fratching territory.

[Sliceanddice]

did you check to see if the DHS had a website?
my state does and it allows you to apply online

[AriGriffin]

The NC DHHS doesn't have an online application. The ESC does, but it is down a lot. Speaking of the ESC, I recieved a letter from them yesterday. They turned me down for benefits again. They said I left my job for 'personal reasons.'

"N.C.G.S. 96-14(1) of the Law provides an individual shall be disqualified for benefits for the duration of his unemployment if it is determined by the Commission such individual is unemployed because he left work without good cause attributable to the employer.

Based on the foregoing, it is concluded claimant left work without good cause attributable to the employer."

Yeah, because getting fired due to missing too many days/not having a doctor's note when I injured my back and could not find a free/low cost doctor to write said note is a 'personal reason.' It pisses me off and want to appeal, but I am just wondering if it is really worth all the hastle.

One of my cats is showing signs of a UTI. She has had it before and takes a liquid version of Clavamox. I'd have to have a perscription from the vet before I could get a bottle. $35 for the vet visit and $30 for the Clavamox (even though 1-800 pet meds has it for $19.99). I can only afford one or the other. I looked into getting assistance with the bill. A friend suggested the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA for short)'s Helping Pets fund.
One has to use an AAHA acredited vet and they would fill out an application for the grant to cover the exam and medicine. I called the nearest location (30 miles away) yesterday, told them my situation, and they said to bring my cat in that afternoon- that they would do the temporary financial hardship form. Mom had a doctor's appointment later that afternoon in the same general area so she agreed to take me to the vet (provided I paid for the gas).
When I arrived, I filled out the paperwork and talked to the secretary. She said I would have to pay for the exam and medicine. I told her I didn't have the money and I requested assistance from the AAHA's Helping Pets fund. She said I would have to wait for the office manager and talk to her.
So I wait... and wait... and wait. Mom left for her doctor's appointment, thinking I was going to be able to see the vet. Finally the manager comes and talks to me. She said the AAHA is an accreditation and it just means they do stuff other vets don't do. She said they don't offer any form of financial assistance. I told her that the AAHA's Helping Pets fund was the one that did, not the AAHA itself. She told me I didn't know what I was talking about and to either pay to see the vet or leave and let my cat die. I left, cat in tow. I ended up calling my aunt who was going to meet my Mom at her doctor's office to help her pay her co-pay to come pick me up and take me to where Mom was since she hadn't passed the vet's office yet. My aunt said to love my cat for a few days but she wasn't going to loan me the money to save her. When I arrived home, I sent a nice little e-mail to the AAHA's Helping Pets fund about my experience. I am going to call my regular vet's office when they open this afternoon and see if they would be willing to reach some sort of agreement about payment. (CareCredit wouldn't help me when I had emergency dental work, so they aren't going to help me with my cat). Mom said she got them to take a post-dated check once, so who knows. Hopefully they will and I can take some stuff to the pawn shop or sell that empty fish tank & stand on craigslist to cover the vet bill. The cat isn't passing blood, she is just staying in the box without results. I've given her some chicken broth and spring water (she usually gets tap). I'm looking into some home remedies that can help.

[AriGriffin]

My regular vet agreed to see my cat in exchange for a post-dated check.
The cat peed in the carrier on the way to the vet. She has a tendancy to do that when she is in the car. It was kind of embarrasing when the vet tech pulled her out, but then again I'm sure the poor guy has seen worse. Anyway, she did have a UTI and the vet gave her a perscription for Clavamox. The vet told me to change her diet to Pedigree to see if that helps.