They told us this week at work that due to lack of funding and budget cut backs there will be no raises for anyone this year. This is not surprising given the state of the economy and, even more so, the state of human services at this time.
There are things I know to be true. One is, I am better off than all of the people I work with in my job. I have a roof, a nice one at that. I have food, and I don't have to stand in line or beg to get it. I have a car. Yes, it's a crappy Dodge Neon but it's mine, gets me where I need to go, and it's paid for. I have friends and family who love me. I have heat. I have clothing. I have the means to have fun once in a while and go places when I want to. I'm doing okay. The raise thing, while inconvenient, is not going to hurt me all that much.
Another thing I know to be true is, that when there are funding shortages and budget cutbacks, it usually means there is an overwhelming Republican control of our state government. It rarely fails. The first thing to go are the programs that actually help the people who need the most help. As our economy dips, people lose their jobs, their homes, their hope and they turn to us in human services to help them with little things like medical attention, medication, housing, or just a warm place to sleep for one night. It's all done in the name of managing our state debt and balancing our state budget. I get it. I really do. I get that we have to get that stuff under control but does it always have to be at the expense of our poorest poor and our least fortunate? Because it always is. Oh, yeah, we hear on the news about those nifty tax people not giving out incentives to rich folk anymore and that's great! But you know what? The rich people will whine about it for a while and then get over it. Why? Because they are rich! They can get over it. It's the middle classes and working poor that cannot "get over it". It devastates them. Breaks apart their homes and families and makes them lose their dignity and, worst of all, their hope. Without hope, it is nearly impossible to bounce back. Instances of drug and alcohol use increase. Reports of child abuse and domestic violence increase. The number of successful suicides increases. All because there is no hope.
I have 21 referrals for mental health services sitting on my desk right now. TWENTY ONE! And that's a small portion of those that are sitting on a waiting list. These "lucky" 21 only got to my desk because they have state Medical Assistance insurance. The others? They don't. For those our county would have to pay for their services and there is no money to pay so they wait. What are they waiting for? Oh, little things like seeing a psychiatrist, getting on some effective medications, learning viable work and education skills, and getting safe and affordable housing. Things that should be a right, not a privilege.
For me? This lack of a raise won't faze me. I'll be fine. I'll work smarter, not harder and I'll try to figure out a way to generate some income into our programs that might make it possible to take one or two of the luckless folks on the waiting list. I hope that in some small way I can give them some hope too.
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