Welfare and Other Assistance

While in this class we actually touched on the subject of people who received assistance of any kind whether it be welfare, food stamps, WIC, etc.  Before reading some of the stories that I came across I had some negative thoughts about those who received welfare and mostly because I thought of them as people who were just too lazy to work and wanted a easy way out, sadly this is true in some cases.  But I am happy to say that after this class it is NOT true in all cases and if used in the correct way welfare and other assistance groups can be a blessing.

In the readings we learned of a woman who had become a teen mother, her mother had been a teen mother to her and the cycle had basically continued.  The woman however wanted to end the cycle and make something of herself.  With the help of numerous aids she went on to college and got pretty far but not without rude remarks from others when they learned of the assistance she received.  The sad part of the story comes when she is almost at the end of her career and she is told she can not receive the welfare anymore which will force her to move into an apartment on a bad side of town, her apartment is broken into, her child is taken from a good daycare to a lesser, and she must stop taking classes to work more to support her family.

After this class it changed my entire way of thinking with these types of assistance.  I would have never considered that anyone on welfare would have so many dreams and goals because I'm use to what the media or what I have seen from personal experience.  I also found it extremely sad that if you receive assistance and you try to make something of yourself it will actually hurt you.  Is this the reason why most who do receive the assistance don't try?  I think that may be a very good question and one the state might want to look at.

I'm glad I had the opportunity to see the point of view from the women in the book to see their stories and how they used the assistance to a greater good.  It made me open my eyes, and see the money that is taken from me could be for a better cause.