Stamp Out Hunger

49.1 million: The number of Americans living in food-insecure homes (in 2008).

Things are definitely slowing down around here, mostly because the end of tax season is finally in sight. We haven't had many more calls from people who want their taxes done, and I am officially DONE with tax trainings! It brings us all an odd sense of relief, having tax season out of the way. I definitely feel like we accomplished something over the past three months.

But even though tax season is almost over, I'm still going to be busy around here. I'm about to get started on the Stamp Out Hunger food drive, the nation's largest single day food drive. It is done through a collaboration of the National Association of Letter Carriers, the Campbell Soup Company, the U.S. Postal Service, Feeding America, Valpak, the National Rural Letter Carriers' Association, the AFL--CIO and United Way Worldwide.

On the second Saturday in May, people across the country will hopefully assist the hungry by placing canned goods and other non-perishables in or around their mailboxes. The mailmen collect the food in a single day, and it all goes to local foodbanks and pantries.

My job in this is going to mostly focus on recruiting volunteers to help us get all these boxes of food out of the trucks. We're going to need some serious muscles to get this going. I also want to help get the word out, so I plan on designing flyers and handing them out to various apartment complexes and local businesses.

I'm excited to get this thing started. It's nice to have a new project to focus on!

Food stamp stigmas

1.2 million: The number of people who access the Food Assistance Program in Ohio

Every once in a while Kaitlyn or I will get a phone call from prospective clients wanting to know what kind of services the Ohio Benefit Bank provides. I've had to answer this question hundreds of times before (from friends and family, too) so I pretty much have my response down to an art form.

"The Ohio Benefit Bank is a free Web-based program that allows you to apply for multiple benefits, such as food stamps, cash assistance, medical assistance and child care. It is essentially a bank of applications that we can fill out for you, because we understand that the process can be really overwhelming. We also provide a free tax assistance program...blah blah blah..."

I may have that part memorized, but the other day I had a phone call that had me drawing a blank.

The call was from a woman who wanted to know what the Benefit Bank was and how it could help her. I started going through my monologue, but I didn't get too far before she burst into tears.

She had been in a car accident a few months ago that left her unable to drive or work, and buried under thousands of dollars in unpaid medical bills. Her husband and mother recently died, and she had no other family she could turn to.

She said she used to make pretty good money, but she never actually put it away. She used to be the type of person who was disgusted by people who used food stamps or needed other kinds of assistance. She told me, "Karma finally caught up to me."

It was an exhausting 30-minute conversation. All I could really do was listen to her and try to reassure her that help was out there and that there was nothing to be ashamed of. That federal money is there for a reason. But I think she just had too much pride to do anything but call.

She made it clear that she didn't want to be on food stamps. She didn't want to be asking for help. She was just terrified of not being able to pay her bills or rent. She had no food in the house, and couldn't really wait 30 days for the food stamps application to go through. I gave her the contact information for a nearby emergency food pantry, but she couldn't make an appointment to come in and see me to fill out some applications because she needed to ask a neighbor if she would be willing to bring her here.

I've never felt so helpless. For people who need help, all we can do is present them with all of the resources that are available for them. It's up to them to actually follow through with it.

I gave the woman my work cell number so she could reach me at any time, but I haven't heard back from her. And unfortunately, I don't think I will. We can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped.

I hope everyone reading this understands that there is no shame in applying for benefits. They are there for a reason! I'm going to pull a Myth-Busters now and give you some common reasons why some people might not apply for food stamps.

1. Resources and assets count against you. FALSE! The only things that determine your eligibility when applying for food stamps is your income and your household size. The government understands that you can't eat your car or your house.
2. Food stamps are welfare. Nope. The Food Assistance Program is a work-support program. You must be in an approved work, training, or educational environment to be eligible. So you can apply for food stamps if you are volunteering or receiving job training. (Or if you're retired, or have a disability...)
3. Shopping with food stamps is not simple and inconspicuous. This used to be true. However, we have done away with those little scraps of paper that used to hold up the line. We now have what is called an Electronic Benefits Transfer Card (EBT), which can be used just like a credit or debit card. You can swipe it and no one has to know that you just accessed your food stamp money.
4. The amount of food stamps a person qualifies for isn't worth the time to apply. The smallest amount of money you can get a month for food stamps is $14. If I handed you $14, would you take it? I thought so. Also, those dollars roll over to the next month if you don't use them. They don't just go away. So you can get your food stamps in January, save up all year, and buy your family a nice Thanksgiving dinner come November. That's just one less thing to worry about.

Spread the word, people. Fight the stigma. Goodnight.

Chaos at Miami Hami

50: About the number of people who participated in the poverty simulation yesterday.

Yesterday at about 1:30, Kaitlyn and I drove out to Miami University Hamilton, but for once we weren't doing a training! We were asked by the VISTA there, Jessica Reading, if we would help them out with a poverty simulation, like the one I went through in December. This time, though, I had a chance to be on the other side of the frenzy.

My booth was the General Employer's office, so it was my job to check everyone in who was fortunate enough to have a job, take their transportation passes, hand out their "job assignments" and distribute their checks at the end of their shift (which was seven minutes long).

Kaitlyn sat at the table next to me. She was the schoolteacher, and she was in charge of taking in people grades K-college, handing out assignments and homework, and giving them slips of paper telling them to bring in a few dollars for field trips, class projects, school supplies, etc.

Kaitlyn sits at her "classroom" and waits for her students to arrive

Did I ever mention that my sister works at Miami Hamilton? She has the extremely awesome job of coordinator of student activities. She gets to plan student events, like cornhole tournaments and pizza tastings, in her day's work. But today we got to work together, because she was participating in the simulation as the owner of "Big Dave's Pawn Shop"!

Meet my sister, Jen Moning! (I mean Jen O'Brien!)

Anyway, as the General Employer, I had a lot to keep track of, so I might have been a little overwhelmed at times. Only six people out of eight showed up on time to work in week 1, so I had to fire two people right off the bat. (My rule was that they had to be at work for at least half the time). Fewer people showed up with each week, and by week 4 I had only two employees, though I had more applications than I knew what to do with. Only one person showed up to work on time every week.

It didn't take long for me to recognize the feelings of anxiety, despair and panic that I felt when I went through this simulation back in December. The entire room was chaos. I really hated firing people, especially the people who lost their job for the same reasons I lost mine when I was playing Cindy Chen (not enough transportation passes). The sad thing was that most people didn't really put up a fight when I told them they lost their job. The conversations would mostly go like this:

THEM: I'm here for work!

ME: Well, work just ended, so I'm afraid you're fired.

THEM: Fired?! Well, crap. *scampers off*

Everyone just had too much to keep track of to actually fight for their career. There was one girl who was late in the first week of work who I had to fire, but she showed up the next day anyway and begged for another chance, so I cut her some slack. She was always on time after that, though she did try to steal a stack of my transportation passes. Strike two.

Everyone scrambles around the room trying to get their bills paid, their families fed, and their homes secure. This is the room where we had the simulation.

I was a little surprised by the amount of theft that went on in this simulation. In the one I was in in December we had a little, but this was insane. People were yelling "SHERIFF!" all over the place. The "thief," played by my sister's friend and co-worker Annie, actually tried to rob the bank. There was some kind of shoot-out at the school, but I didn't really get a good look at it. People were stealing from their neighbors and taking up jobs as drug dealers left and right.

And of course, most of the chairs in the room were turned upside down by the end of the day.

Chairs that were turned upside down symbolized that that family has been evicted

This crowd is the line for the homeless shelter--which quickly became too full to accept anyone else.

At the end of the simulation, everyone righted their chairs and sat in a circle for a group discussion about their experiences, led by Amanda Cowgill, National Service Coordinator for AmeriCorps*VISTA.

Amanda leads a discussion about what everyone experienced in the simulation

All of the participants were constantly reminded that this was not a game; it was a simulation, meant to increase our knowledge, understanding, and awareness of the challenges of living in poverty. I think everyone got it. I think it was around week 3 when one of my few employees looked around at the chaos in the room and said to me, "This is heartbreaking."

I'm glad I was able to do this simulation again, because it's always good to see the effects of what you're doing. I think by the end of the simulation, everyone had a better idea and respect for what people living in poverty have to go through.

In closing, here's a video of the participants near the end of the simulation, picking up their chairs and such to get ready for the group discussion. Is it just me, or do they look kind of exhausted?

The Other Side

12: The number of days until Kaitlyn's wedding! (And the first day of spring!)

Remember back in December when I went to In Service Training and went through a poverty simulation? Today, Kaitlyn and I will be traveling to Miami University Hamilton where we will be on the other side of the experiment as social services case workers #1 and #2.

I'm pretty excited about this! When I went through the simulation the first time I was participating as a woman living in poverty. I was running around from place to place in such a frenzy that I really didn't have the time to soak it in until it was over. Today, I'll have a better idea of what to expect and I'll be able to observe the chaos, rather than be stuck in the middle of it. It'll be really cool to see how other people react to being placed in that kind of situation.

Anyway, Kaitlyn and I will be leaving for that this afternoon and it will probably go until at least 5:00 p.m. (Hello, comp time!) But I'll be sure to post all about it tomorrow or the next day. I'll also try to remember to take pictures this time.

IN OTHER NEWS: Our site supervisor, Meredith, is back at Shared Harvest after about three months of maternity leave! Welcome back, Meredith! And welcome to the world, Minerva Abigail!

Benefits Training, Take 2

2: The number of days in my weekend (For the first time in a long time!)

Today was Part II of that benefits training we had to cut short this week. Kaitlyn and I were a little nervous, but determined to make it through the class unscathed. We needn't have worried. The site administrator had had a chat with everyone in the class before they came in, and he even said a few words about turning off cell phones before we started. Everyone was very courteous and attentive, and it went a lot more smoothly than Part I.

They did have a lot of questions, but Kaitlyn and I had been expecting that. The first half was so chaotic; people were talking over me and their internet kept cutting out. So it was like they were retaking the training today, in half the time they should have been. But everyone did catch on and completed the scenario without too many problems. I'm really glad that's over with.

Some more good news is that Kaitlyn and I were finally able to find someone to take over the Greenville class tomorrow! We e-mailed Jess with pleas for help, and she told us that she knew plenty of people who owe her a favor. I'd like to take this moment to thank Jess, and a big thank you to Suzanna Witte for taking over that training tomorrow! I'll be able to go to Kaitlyn's bridal shower; we're both really relieved!

IN OTHER NEWS: It is going to be in the 50's this weekend and next week! WOO! I have had an extreme case of cabin fever for the past couple of months, and I am so excited to be able to get out of the house.

Meet me Halfway

15: The number of minutes I was stuck in traffic this morning (and therefore the number of minutes late I was to my training).

Don't worry. I always arrive at 8:30 for my 9:00 classes. So today I was here at 8:45, and I still had time to set up.

Today is my first full benefits class since before Christmas. I'm currently on my lunch break in Dayton, for a class of seven people. Things are going really well. Benefits classes are pretty much the same as tax classes, except there aren't as many errors in the book and we go over the different programs we offer with OBB instead of tax credits.

I haven't even looked at my benefits guide in ages (I should probably be doing that now, but I am feeling a little frustrated with myself for having such a lame blog post yesterday and I have a strong desire to make up for it). I think I'll be okay, though. I know the program. I know the benefits.

That training that was snowed out in Greenville Saturday needs to be rescheduled soon (they have their first tax clinic on the 13th). The problem is that they can only do a Saturday training, so it would HAVE to be this Saturday, which is the same day as Kaitlyn's bridal shower. We have been scrambling around, trying to find someone else to take the training, but we haven't had any luck yet, so I might have to miss the shower. Which is bad news bears.

We might have to become as flexible as some of these other sites we've been working with (i.e. MUCH LESS FLEXIBLE). I know it's our job to train as many people as we can, but these special trainings out of our region and working on weekends is really starting to take a toll. You've got to meet us halfway.

Don't wake me, I plan on sleeping in

4: The guess-timated number of times I wake up every night.

I'm having a problem with writer's block today, so today's blog is going to be in bullet point format.

• I have a bad case of the Mondays.
• I drove halfway out to Greenville Saturday for a training only to get a phone call from the site administrator telling me they had a level 2 snow emergency. The farther north I drove, the more slick the roads were. The time it took me to find a side road clear enough to turn around solidified my decision to cancel the class.
• I have a training tomorrow in Dayton, Thursday in Eaton (which I think will be canceled, as no one has signed up for it yet) and Part II of the Training from Hell (see "Alexandra's Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day") on Friday.
• I have had to work, in some capacity, the last 3 Saturdays in a row. I miss two-day weekends. I miss sleeping in.
• Being an insomniac is really getting on my nerves.