Worked Over By WorkFirst
By Stephanie New

In May I became homeless. Working full time as. a telephone solicitor, I got laryngitis and missed a month's work. I was not eligible for emergency assistance due to my last months' earnings. I had no rent money and my family was evicted.

In order to find a shelter, we had to move from the rural area that had been our home for 7 years. We moved 3 times, to 3 shelters in 3 towns, before finding one in Seattle and access to work, food, transportation, and housing adequate for my family's needs.

I found a full-time job, but when I told welfare, I was advised that I would have to go through WorkFirst orientation again or be sanctioned for noncompliance. I explained that if I got a bus/pass and some work shoes; I already had a job!

I was told that to get any help from WorkFirst, I would need to go to orientation-even though I would lose my 

job. At the same time, I was advised that my son (who then was hospitalized for depression) was a mandatory WorkFirst registrant because he was l6 and not registered in school.

Then, my son was forced from the hospital before his course of treatment was done, when our family's medical benefits were changed. This was a direct result of my terminating my cash grant to avoid threatened sanctions. Because I was a Fair Budget member, I was able to access organizations that clarified my rights as a recipient of assistance.  I have had my benefits reinstated-with the correct medical coverage. I have avoided having my son registered in WorkFirst- enrollment in a GED program for homeless youth and his mental illness exempts him. If I had not been a member of Fair Budget, I would not have known I had any alternatives.

I feel that Fair Budget is making a difference in many people's lives, not just mine. I want people who are being "worked over" by the welfare system to know that we are here to help them find their own voices.

We are fighting the exploitation that finds those who feel powerless in the face of Welfare "Deform". We are helping people reconnect with their dignity and self respect and value to their community. I know other families just like mine, struggling financially but personally committed to changing their lives and helping others, are part of Fair Budget.

Help us to continue our critical outreach and educational efforts in your communities around

Washington State. Please donate generously to our 2nd Annual Fund Drive.

1998 Legislative Update: Initiative 688 (Raise the Minimum Wage) Passes!!

Fair Budget is proud to have played a role in the passage of 1-688. We gathered signatures until the bitter end. Regrettably, we did not have the same success with Ref. 49. It passed and drained millions of dollars from the State General Fund that could have been used to fund human/social services.

Fair Budget will be bringing lowincome voters to Olympia to testify during the 1999 Legislative session about the impact of such cuts on their families. Look for our January 1999 newsletter for an in-depth look at our Legislative Agenda for the upcoming session.

This is a potentially pivotal year in our state's government: Democrats are the majority in the Senate and there is a tie in the House!! Your representatives vote may be the deciding factor on  in funding whether a bill lives or dies!

Your involvement is more important now than ever; please contact Fair Budget to arrange a visit to Olympia with us or meet with your elected officials in their district offices before the 1st of the year, OR if YOU don't have the time-sponsor a Fair Budget Board member to go by donating to our 2nd Annual Fund Drive.


Fair Budget's Legislative Simulation Goes International!!

 

Director, Gwen Orwiler & Organizer, Sharon Prager with Svetlana Uralova

FB recently hosted a woman from Russia, Svetlana Uralova, who was here in the U.S., as part of a larger group of 15 Women of Vision, to learn about our legislative system and how women factored into it.

Uralova was one of the first women to run for public office; in a system where women hold less than 1 % of the political positions.

We took her to eat at FareStart (formerly Common Meals) and treated her to a gourmet feast prepared by students training in a special chef's course for the homeless. This program successfully transitions individuals and families out of homelessness and into living wage jobs as fine dining chefs. We wanted to show her that there are creative solutions being implemented by creative, caring people in our communities to combat poverty.

 

Next, we had Uralova participate in our Legislative Simulation, "How a Bill Becomes a Law", being hel in Federal Way for Head Start/ECEAP parents. She with the help of her translator, learned how to effectively testify in front of public officials, what role the media p ays, ow

stay on message, and we covered a lot of background info about the elimination of the national safety net of entitlement programs for the extremely poor.

Uralova was so impressed by the Legislative Simulation that she asked to take a copy of it back to Russia, so she could tailor it to their political system and teach Russian citizen's how to impact the process. Of course, WE AGREED!

 

Angela Foster & Scott Worth being interviewed by Fair Budget Organizer, Sharon Prager, as a media representative for the Legislative Simulation.

 

Holidays are for Helping...

Help Send Low-Income Voices to the Legislature!


The next legislative session in Olympia (beginning Jan. 11th) will be along one, 105 days. We have lots of activities our members can participate in and we hope to make sure low-income voices are part of the debate, but it costs money. Your generous donations directly help us to provide information, organize and pay for childcare and transportation costsliterally removing the critical barriers that keep low-income people from their seat at the discussion.

Your donation of $5 (the cost of lunch at DQ) will pay postage for 15 letters from our members to their representatives or editors of their local newspapers.
Your donation of $12 (the cost of a week of lattes) will pay for the printing and postage of 12 Fair Budget newsletters to bring advocacy information to one low- income family for TWO YEARS!

Your donation of $20 (the cost of a tank of Supreme gasoline) will pay for 3 hours of childcare for a member with 3 kids to participate as a financial worker r in our Welfare Simulation. Their expertise helps break the myths and stereotypes about poverty and welfare all over the state.

 Your donation of $50 (the cost of dinner and a movie for 2) will pay for transportation and childcare for a member with 2 kids to go to Olympia for half a day and talk to their legislators.

Your donation of $100 will pay for a low-income board member to participate in a day of community leadership training.

Your donation of $200 will pay for approximately ONE round trip flight, or a 650 mile drive round trip, to allow a low-income Eastern Washington Board member to attend an every other month full board meeting. (Childcare is additional)

Please show you care about social & economic justice

by giving generously to Fair Budget's 2nd Annual Fund Drive.

 

Human Rights

Monitoring Project

This year, on Dec.10th, we will celebrate the 50 year anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations in 1948. This was thought to be a major step forward for humanity.

As we celebrate this year, can we say that our nation has honored its commitment to justice and peace for "all members of the human family?"

Personal testimony collected by the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) from welfare recipients suggests we can not. New laws enacted over the past two year's in WA, D.C. (the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act signed by President Clinton on Aug.22,1996) and in Olympia ("WorkFirst, WA state's welfare reform signed by Governor Gary Locke on April 17, 1997) are making it very difficult for some of our state's residents who are struggling against poverty to exercise their basic human rights.

Fair Budget's organizer, Sharon Prager, has been documenting the personal, and often tragic, stories of hundreds of local families suffering under punitive welfare reform law. She talks to families who are working hard just to survive, trying to hold it together for another month-mostly working minimum wage service industry jobs, finding themselves unable to house, feed or clothe their children adequately on their limited income.

Imagine working full time, but still eligible for, and needing, welfare! This is the reality of these families who must balance their lives everyday on the precarious tightrope of poverty. Looking for affordable and adequate healthcare and childcare, safe and affordable housing, as well as an opportunity to get an education and living-wage skills.

These are the heart of the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights something we all want for our families and Fair Budget believes these are most certainly ideals worth fighting for.

The UUSC will be compiling the personal testimony into a report on the impact of welfare reform on our state's poorest families. This will be provided to lawmakers early next year.