My day wasn't that bad, but my roomie's was fairly tedious. She went to apply for summer LIHEAP (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program) today. From my end, her day went like.
- At about 7:30 AM, she left the house.
- At 8:15 or so, I got a call & she told me about the mammoth line.
- At 9:20, she called & said she'd actually made it inside the building.
- At 11:30 or so, she called to tell me she was done.
Fortunately, we were awarded LIHEAP for the summer, but she paid for it by standing for over an hour outdoors with no shade, no chairs, in over 95 F temperatures. She paid for it by being surrounded by a lot of people who all thought they were too good to be forced to wait in line for anything. She paid for it, by once again opening our lives to outside scrutiny. She paid for it by paying taxes for all the time she worked before she went on disability. So, while I am very appreciative of the program's assistance, I don't look at like we were looking for a free hand out.
A lot of people look at those who require assistance as being purposely destitute or junkies or some other equally derogatory descriptor. There are those people, but there are a lot of people who need these programs that until recently would've never even thought of applying for assistance. These are people whose jobs vanished into thin air or have found themselves disabled. So, for all of you who have never had to ask for help, count your blessings, because that type of fortune can change in a blink of an eye. It's not easy having to ask for help, but sometimes you don't have a choice.
Cya, hope your day is going well
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