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"Dream House" by James Harbison

"Handout".... or Desperately needed Help

By Ann Anh

Welfare reform ruling against legal non citizens upheld in Congress,

It hadn't taken very long, perhaps a moment......I was standing there with my mother, a Cambodian refugee, as she lowered her eyes to an unknown place in the room, and within a second I watched my mother lose her spirit...forever .

My mother was not lazy and and she never thought she would need any help, but in fact, she did, due to serious a illness and no healthcare or benefits she was on welfare, and without it she and I would starve.

My mother had received welfare until the welfare reform bill was signed which caused, among other things, the end of food stamps and disability benefits for countless legal non-citizens, like my mother.

My mother had worked for years as an attendant to a disabled woman whose family didn't have the time or love in their hearts to care for their own mother. My mother also worked as a babysitter, janitor, cook, and maid until she was so ill from a serious lung infection that she could no longer get out of bed. My mother worked until she could no longer move, but that is not what broke her spirit. therefrom."

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It was a strangely sunny day when we walked into the food stamps office and the eligibility worker told my mother and I that we were going to be cut off from receiving benefits, "and besides, isn't it time you got a job, Mrs Anh,..."

I was reminded of that hurtful day, four years ago, this Monday when the Supreme Court refused to review Congress's 1996 welfare overhaul. One of the famous quotes from Congress at the time was, " The national policy with respect to Welfare and immigration is self-sufficiency, Immigrants who come to live in the United States should not depend on public resources to meet their needs"

Since then, Congress has backtracked a bit and restored benefits for several groups of immigrants. They include those who are disabled and blind, those over age 65 and under 18. Lawyers for the cities of Chicago and New York went to court seeking to have the food stamps and other benefits restored to all legal noncitizens. They maintained that the policy amounted to discrimination against lawful residents in violation of the Constitution's guarantee of equal protection under the law. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago disagreed, ruling that Congress has broad power to set rules for immigrants and non citizens.

My mother died last year, I am not sure what finally killed her physical body, but I do know what killed her spirit. And I do know that her need for help had nothing to do with her lack of "self-sufficiency"

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THERAPY COSTS TOO MUCH!!!!
Dee Gray, M.S.W., M.F.C.   Licensed Therapist specializing in advocacy and crisis counseling. Mother, daughter and family counseling. Adoption and juvenile dependency. Literary and creative art counseling. Individual and group therapy. Sliding scale fee. (415) 541-5629.