Don’t fuck with welfare!
I missed my welfare appointment. Now, I must pay the consequences! In order to stay on welfare I have to participate in this jobWave Program. I wrote about it on an earlier post.
After the initial group intake meeting, I had another meeting with a job counsellor who basically went down a laundry list of questions about my “barriers to employment” including rather probing questions about childhood abuse.
She then booked me another appointment, with another job counsellor. But alas, I missed that appointment. I thought maybe I’d call them, they’d maybe rebook it and we’d go from there.
Nope!
I get two angry, hasty messages on my voice mail telling me to call Job Wave back and then I get a letter informing me that I have to attend something called “Reconnect,” which is basically one of their code words for “getting back in touch” with people who’ve they’ve lost contact with.
Five people show up for Reconnect. It’s a group meeting that last for about an hour. It’s basically an hour of this woman talking down to us like errant children. It was degrading. The woman was this bleached-blonde forty-something year old with a heavy smoker’s voice and big earrings. She would not be out of place at a biker bar in Nanaimo.
She kinda looked like this:
She gave this annoying lecture about the importance of being on time. “There’s no excuse not to be late,” she says. “I’m surprised at how many people here come late. We never have this problem at the Surrey office. People are on time there. If you’re gonna be late, take an earlier bus.”
I had only been to two previous JobWave appointments – and I’d never been late to one. I missed one, but I wasn’t late.
She then goes on about the rules of the program, I should mention this had all been discussed at a previous group meeting. She goes on about how we won’t get very far if we tell her “F you and F that” and that looking up photos of bikini-clad women on the computers was not okay.
She droned on about the rules of JobWave, why they were important in the most condescending, belittling tone imaginable. I really got the sense that she felt superior to us because she had a job, and we didn’t.
She exhibited no respect for our personal situations and made no attempt whatsoever to engage us.
In fact, I didn’t say one word during the whole meeting. She didn’t know a damn thing about me, but she assumed so much.
I didn’t want to be there, but I had to or I’d get kicked off welfare, so I sat through it. I didn’t speak or make any eye contact with her. I was as sombre as a stone.
She then had us fill out all this annoying paperwork that they had made us go through on our first group meeting. And she spent about five minutes explaining each question and how to answer it.
After being force fed her horse shit, she gave us this piece of paper that we had to fill out that included questions such as “What do you do for your health?” and “what did you do for fun this week?” We have to bring that piece of paper back next Tuesday at 1:30 and then attend another group meeting called “Touch Back” which sounds like another horse shit group interview session. After that we’ll get individual appointments with the very underwhelming career counsellors who’ll prod us about our histories of abuse and so forth.
Err… uhm… don’t miss your appointments!
My comp screwed up the sentences for some reason and didn’t take out some stuff?…weird
Jobwave Surrey BC isn’t any better and maybe even worse. I know been there got setup by the women ( no men work there so the scent of estrogen is almost sickening) and kicked out … was setup like a boss firing you. They knew I would be cutoff welfare ( 1st time ever on it) and laughed about it. Sick people. Kinda like bad cops would (lots of those thugs too right?) They all have serious personality disorders so now we know where a lot of the people from the old mental institutions got employment. No one I spoke to there wanted to be in that shit hole of a failed gov ripoff. Anybody interested check out as many jobwave complaints on the web as you can. It was a US based company (think terminator to get who was involved) but managed to suck many millions of BC taxpayers $ in all sorts of scams. Don’t bring anything with you that may offend them ( could be anything depending on the week of the month cause on a whim they may decide it’s unacceptable. Don’t bring anything with you of any value cause they can and have stolen as well. Don’t speak unless your spoken to. etc etc etc. Like they all missed their real calling by about 60 yrs. Nazi germany would have loved these people as gas attendants. The info they get from you supposedly protected by law but we all know thats bullshit too. They use a Catholic case worker in Surrey to try and make you feel disarmed then send in the dykes. You are absolutely correct in saying they treat you like a child ..a mindless one.So..I did it to them knowing full well they couldn’t take their own medicine. You’d think they would at least hire people with at least a minimum double digit IQ. At least one of them couldn’t even spell but considered herself a teacher a chubby short “female” who prolly only got laid once in her life when her girl freind was of her mind. Another one who looks like a (much) uglier version of Malcolm in the middles mother (40 something?) liked to have her top unbuttoned to the third or fourth button and then lean over a desk in front of the guys and/or girls. She also apparently reads body language (prolly tea leaves, tarot cards etc) or so she claims. I think she is one of the worst and should be jailed for imitating (poorly) a human being. Pathetic absolutely pathetic people. Where do they come up with this kind of shit passing themselves off as human? . My God what a bad joke this so called program is and your forced by human resources to go there. Any of you who ever get working hire a lawyer and go after them for your info or sue for abuse (get a few classmates in on it) Send a registered letter to them telling them that any permission you may have given to them in any way regarding your personal info is rescinded. Send a registered copy to your human resources worker as well and to any organization you feel may help you especially the gov so its on record.To anyone else mandated into this nightmare do NOT give a phone number out to them. Tell them you have been advised by your legal council to have any communication outside of the “class” sent via registered letter and only if they sign it with a full name and employee number. Tell them the same if they want you to call them…sorry registered letter only with full signature required. One of the facilitators lives in Abbotsford BC I know some people out there and they have been given a description of this chubby (rather ugly) “artist”. I have been assured they will pay her back with interest when they find her. If you have a cell phone or cam get a quick picture of them for your files spread it around the web and to everyone you know. Post a story about them as well. You might as well cause they got your picture. There is a lot of people abused by these facilitators and case workers and these people are waiting in the wings for their opportunity for payback…with uber interest. If any of you out there have a copy of the contract you were “forced” to sign (under duress (and having to get on welfare is a very stressful situation for most of us) please post a copy of it online (just black out your signature) so everyone can see the terms of the so called agreement. Encourage them to write in with their stories and opinions. BTW I’ve been mandated back into this prison of a program. If any of you pray ask for a job for me so I can support my kids ok? I am so tired of feeling like a third class citizen after paying taxes up the yang for years and years only to end up on this bullshit program with abusers like these. Better a bad boss at a job cause you can always meet them in the parking lot with a baseball bat and “talk” to them.
I didn’t know I even had to go to one of these meetings until I got a paper in the mail informing me to show up. I called to see what it was about and was informed by the caseworker that if I wasn’t working over 35 hours per week I would have to participate in their program. (this was in late November 09) When I informed the case worker that I would be going out of town for a good part of December to visit my parents who I haven’t seen in 3 years she said “you can’t do that”. When I told her I already had the tickets she just said “well you can’t leave the state, but come in for your meeting anyway”.
Long story short, I missed the meeting because I had work that day (I worked 36 hours straight from the day before into the day of the meeting) and tried to reschedule. I called three days before the day I wanted to reschedule and never got a call back till several days after the day I was available and guess what, I was already out of state.
The caseworker then called Dec 18th to inform me that I had a meeting with her the 20th. I reminded her that I was out of town and she replied “you can’t leave the state when you are on assistance”. I said “I already had my tickets (purchased by my parents) what am I supposed to do”. She replied “I’m just trying to do my job” and hung up on me. She was a complete bitch.
I have one final meeting setup for this week where they will cut off my assistance if I don’t show up. I called to see about getting transportation and apparently had bad reception because she said really rudely “you’re breaking up, please call from a phone that works.
To any assholes out there who want to judge me about being on welfare – fuck you. I live in CA where at least 10% of the population is on unemployment. I am not on unemployment which would give basically the same amount of money as the welfare aid. Some weeks I work over 60 hours and other weeks I only work about 20. The system is screwed up and most of the case workers are assholes. I am trying to do the right thing by working whatever gigs come my way until I can get something solid but that it just fucking me over. I am probably going to just skip the meeting and try to get by without the extra money.
Haha! Poor Surrey!
Oh, and I think I would be rather disappointed if somebody told me I wasn’t even as good as a person from Surrey (*shudder)
Yeah, well if you lowlifes weren’t so pathetic she’d be out of a job. Did she ever consider that? She should be licking you where the good lord split you.
HEEHEE
Well best way to eat a shit sandwich is with a lot of bread. There is a shocking anount of injustice in these programs. It is a terrible spot to be in.
It is hard enough being in a bad spot. It is even worse when you are made to feel like you did something wrong or are some how worthless for swallowing your pride and asking for help in your time of need.
If any thing our government should help us in our time of need and do it in such a way that allows us our dignity. Unfortunately this is not the case.
The help given out this day is not to help the individual. The help is meant to deal with people like and annoyance. Rather than being helped it is always a feeling of being dealt with. It is a very hurtful and aliening feeling.
I think if people are given hope and encouragement they will do great things even under srict regulations. It is not so much what the rules are its how people are treated that matters.