How much more can you take from someone who has nothing

by Tiny/PNN

"Since Bush has been in office I have had to work 50-60 hours per week to help my daughters and sons raise their children," Words of knowledge poured out of the mouth of Dorothy Harris as she spoke at a hearing on Saturday, May 22nd on the state of welfare in light of the severe budget cuts facing California and the nation in 2004, she ended with the poignant, "They are trying to break our spirit, I won't let them break our spirit.."

As Ms. Harris spoke the bitter truth to representatives of John Burton, Jacki Spear and Nancy Pelosi who were present on this cloudy Saturday morning to listen to the concerns of the community, tears filled my eyes. My son was squealing in the background and I had to bring him with me today because I, as a very low-income working mother, and former welfare recipient couldn't afford child care, rent or much of anything else for that matter and in many ways Ms. Harris, a hard-working mother and grandmother spoke for all of the poor mothers in the room.

"The state of welfare today is dismal at best, how much more can you take from someone that doesn't have anything? " Marie Harrison, activist, writer and mother who moderated the event, summed up the pervasive feeling of the day, " Somebody has got to answer that question - and these politicians need to stop sending their aides and come themselves so we can actually get the people who make a difference to be accountable to the people who put them in office

The event was called to revisit what those of us on welfare call Welfare (de)Reform, and the impact that the Governors budget cuts will have on the already horrible situation of welfare for poor families including reducing basic cash grants, cuts to child only aid given to families who have been sanctioned or timed off, and for many, the worst cuts of all, cuts to the already meager child care subsidies.

After a short introduction from event organizers John Wilson and Bianca Henry from the Family Rights and Dignity project of the Coalition on Homelessness, Marie introduced the panel of aides who showed up to speak to the crowd beginning with Sharon Johnson from Senator John Burton's office, " Before I get started I want you all to know, in 1975 I found myself divorced with 5 children and had to enroll in AFDC, now look at me, if you raise your voices like you are doing today anything is possible", Ms. Johnson went on to explain that when the governor rolled back the vehicle license fee the counties budgets were severely harmed and that those funds haven't been replaced. She also tried to give us a view of Senator Burton's view on the current situation facing Calworks "Calworks is one of John's biggest concerns in the budget, and there is one thing that you can count on him to work on, that there will not be a budget that is balanced on the back of the poor, seniors, and disabled - and even though Schwarzenegger is rather obsessed with getting the budget out on time He (John) believes it would be more important to pass a credible budget rather than a budget on june 15th.

Dan Bernal - deputy district supervisor for Nancy Pelosi related the fact that there is a Republican congressman from California, by the name of Wally Herberg in control of the welfare reform reauthorization who proposes changes that would increase the number of welfare recipients that would be forced into work activities if the counties caseload doesn't decrease, but in the tradition of other republican mandates doesn't include any extra funding for increased costs to do that, as opposed to Democrats who are proposing changes like employment credits that would reward the states for moving people off welfare into real living wage jobs. He ended with a quote from Pelosi "until we provide people with economic opportunity to lift people out of poverty welfare reform is doomed to fail."

Paula likens from senator Jacki Spears office explained the budget process and how the Governors May revisions still need to go to the assembly and senate to be passed and that we as conscious and impacted citizens have the unique opportunity to get our voices heard by contacting legislators in Sacramento by phone, email, write and letting them how this budget is going to affect you. She ended with a statement by Ms. Spiers, " I will not abandon women, children and low income families, I will not allow the forces in sacramento to put the interests of prison guards over the interests of families.."

Julie Brown from People Organized to Win Employment Rights informed us of a pending lawsuit in San Francisco, demanding a living wage for Calworks training and workfare payments and how that is currently being fought in the courts as well as her dissatisfaction with our "democratic" mayor Newsom's approach to local welfare and poverty policy.

The statements by the representatives were followed by several poor mothers relating scholarship on issues ranging from the illogic of spending more money on the prison industrial complex rather than the support of poor families to the overspending by Child Protective Services for the taking of children from families rather than the restoring of families. At which point Marie reiterated a crucial point, " Let's be clear what we are hearing from these representatives today, "San Francisco will not win this ourselves, we have to reach out to our friends, family and legislators all across California and just as important we have to hold these politicians accountable for all their promises.

For more information on the family rights and dignity project call (415) 346-3740.