Travel journals

Friday, April 8th
Jackson, WY

Tree trunks in the library

Spent a day at the library fixing the government's errors with my food assistance case. Twice already in two months... I follow their instructions and do nothing wrong, then get penalized for their errors!

First thing in February when I came to El Paso, I ask: who is my case worker, how do I arrange the employment meetings ... they tell me to wait to be contacted for a meeting with my case worker. I get no correspondence for a month. I have a bad feeling about it, but the government being slow is not surprising... and Boulder couldn't schedule me a meeting for a month and a half... so it's not without precedent. They never set up any meeting. The first notice they send me at the start of March says my case was delinquent because I didn't attend the meeting.


OK. What meeting?? I call the department immediately (one and a half hours on hold... and that is average wait time!). The call person can't tell me anything about what meeting was scheduled, when was it, who my case worker is... nothing - because they didn't set up any of it. She says: it doesn't matter, my case is delinquent and there's no point in asking questions, so go fix it.

I want to understand what happened and why - to learn what I was expected to do so I don't get fucked from left field in the future - I'm not begging for my status to be changed... but fine, let's not argue over what's already happened. This call person can't tell me anything useful other than go see somebody else. I hang up this useless two hour waste of a phone call and I drive right over to the office. The secretary there is sympathetic; they've messed up her case countless times as well. She corrects all the false information I've been misled with.

Yes, I do get a case worker. The call person said, 'Everyone handles any case here, you don't get a case worker. We're a bigger county than Boulder, maybe they do things differently there'. No, you don't wait to be assigned a case worker, there is a class TWICE A WEEK you walk in and get a case worker assigned the SAME DAY - LOL, are you kidding me! Why three people who were giving me information were not aware of this!? I could've gotten all this shit done as soon as I got here. I go to the next available class on the following day.

OK, yadda yadda ya... so I complete my work hours and show up to my meeting on March 30th to turn in my hours. I tell the case worker I'm leaving the state, and am told it's fine - re-apply for benefits at the end of the meeting then report you've moved out of state after you receive April benefits. I think everything is wrapped up and I can fucking leave.

I'm supposed to get funds on the 2nd of each month. For some reason, I have funds added on the 30th of March. Okay...? No funds added on April 2nd. My card also doesn't work that day... reports zero balance... wtf... A Walmart cashier tells me everybody has been having that problem, the government messed up their computers and they were going to be behind on adding funds for four days. At this point, I have no faith in their competence to correct the situation and I don't care. I'm done with dealing with them. The next day, I report through my online account that I moved out of state on the 3rd and want to end my benefits.

Again, no correspondence back from them. No acknowledgement of my reported change. I get a different notice. El Paso, Colorado county decided giving me money for the month of March was a big mistake and they want it back... k fine, but we're breaking up now. Then I get a notice that says the status of my repayment claim went from active to canceled. WTF does that mean?? Do they want the money back or not?

Fuck it. I mailed a form and a check for $194. Second form I mailed to STOP receiving benefits, because now I have no confidence in their website to have any effect on managing my account. Their total incompetence is a hassle and a liability. $120 a month is not worth having my life be controlled by 'how to get food stamps'!