Poverty

Dear President Barack Obama:

Here's an example of Essex county's plight. MY wife and my self lost our apartment. She gets SSI and I'm drawing unemployment We went to welfare to ask for emergency help to pay back rent, here's what happened. First the looked at her income which gross is $585.00 and I receive $164.00 every two weeks––that's after child support. They say our combined income is above the standards for emergency help. My rent for a one bedroom for us was $705.00. When we moved into our apartment SSI gross was $851.00. Due to overpayment claims we no longer could afford our apartment. After the first few months in the apartment I had to apply for food stamp assistance. A little while after I was evicted from this apartment and gone back to welfare for further assistance , where I was stopped with a big denial of GA, and or Emergency assistance.

Mind you while all this is taking place I'm in night school trying to go back to college. My major problem is that they said we make too much money for any kind of help.

MY wife has mental instability and I lost my JOB now that I need help for us we sleep in the street. I'm sorry to say the system failed us and many like us . My Name is Anthony. I'm desperately trying to reform our life but this system you brought me to believe in does not believe in me. Read more about Emergency Assistance Reform

Dear President Barack Obama,
I am writing you with deep concern for out health care system, I have insurance and was recently hospitalized I was in a semi-private room with another man who had no insurance other than medicaid and we were talking and to my surprise he had no co payments to make on either for hospital care or co payments for medicine, as for myself I have both.

I had colon cancer this time last year and I am recovering very well. In December 2011, I was in the hospital for a blood clot due to the cancer and a third time for hypertension and a chronic back problem. I am in debt to the hospitals and doctors so much I can't pay the bills left over that my insurance will not pay.

My credit rating is going to be ruined and I may lose everything. I only live on Social Security Disability benefits with thousands of bills to pay I don't know how I will make it, my income is only about $1500.00 how can I pay and live, buy food and shelter?

While the other man I mentioned in the beginning of this letter has nothing to pay and all his bills are covered–this isn't right! To get sick even with insurance and lose everything that you accumulated in your life and ruin your credit score because you were unfortunate and became sick it just isn't right!

Mr. President please help me...........

Sincerely,
Tommy Read more about Healthcare Costs AFTER Insurance ARE BANKRUPTING ME!

Dear President Barack Obama:

I am an American citizen born and raised. I voted for you and was thrilled to see an African American become the President of the United States. Even though I am American Indian and White, it just says America is finally growing into her Constitution. Glad you are in office , hope you stay there.

I am finding that being poor takes away a lot of rights for an individual here in our country. Oh yes. And it is under the surface. When something happens to a wealthy person it is" terrible" but when it happens to someone poor I guess you deserve to be treated that way. I have tried to help myself, but with little resources and having a stress condition I am just not able to do much of anything right. I have tried to find help for a month and keep falling through the cracks. .

The injury came when I was attacked --a gun was pulled on me at my cash register. The assistant manager would not report it so I had to report it myself. The company hid evidence from the police and it took a long time before the police were able to obtain the evidence and view the video tape of the incident which led to solving the case. I was treated by the company EAP and returned to work -- while the company was still hiding evidence. I was met with hostility by my co workers I was ridiculed and mimicked and pranks mean pranks like -- a co worker came up behind me saying FREEZE ! to me in the dark stock room to scare me... I thought it was a crime to have a gun pulled on me-- however the company insisted the police call it an incident.. Since it was me- who called the police myself from my home- I do not understand how this can be. I have a copy of the original report made by me. Two weeks after returning to work my boss unexpectedly confronted me- without warning with the person- a complete stranger- who had attacked me. I could not stop crying and then my boss took away my regular shift and said I would need to be part time that they were cutting the disabled guys shift so they could making me feel guilty like it was my fault and I was a dead weight to them.... I fell apart after that--went to my Doctor ...just could not go back in there... still very disjointed since all the weird head trips that came when the workman's comp claim was made.

Since that time the company terminated me "mistakenly"? --- repeated times---so that I was unable to access my Health Net benefits ( self insured company) Also the workman's comp pharmacy card I was issued--did not work---I recently found out it was because my birth date was entered wrong in the company's insurance system. So I had to pay out of pocket for my medications....using my Auto Club card for what discounts I could obtain. I found this out when I dropped to the lowest point of poverty and I was shifted to the poor people program. Some one researched this at Walgreens Pharmacy and helped me get my correct birth date entered and corrected the insurance error.

So how does one help themselves in this system? The Attorney's don't care about you-unless you have a lot of money. The workman's comp attorney's and corporation's attorney's, the workman's comp medical providers in the system and the corporate provided Evaluation Committee – they all seem to have their own agenda's which favor the corporations. It's just a big game to them. I have been unable to even talk to-let alone see my attorney one single time. I am given helpers to talk to – different ones every time..

I am afraid all the time it makes life like a prison sentence. Corporate Lawyers were able to stop Workman's comp May 2011. Total Temporary Disability Funds stopped March 30, 2011. I am bankrupt now, mentally, emotionally, physically and financially. I applied for Social Security SSI and SDI. The application takes 90 days to process. So I Applied for food stamps and general relief , a horrible degrading experience. There was a police sub station set up there and I had to empty out all my things. The application did not go well. They wouldn't help me because I got $104.00. Federal Income tax return in April from vacation pay company W2. I have not gotten any state income tax. They did not believe me. I have a stress condition. I can not do this any more.

The American Justice System is obviously only a justice system for corporations and the people who can afford Justice. People like me are denied help and brushed aside and fall through the cracks and die... no one cares what happens to you when you are poor. The accusations, cross examinations, corporate lawyers – what a sad sad commentary all this has been on the American Justice System.

It seems to be fine not to call the police when a gun is pulled on someone like me at work – someone poor, working part time with their insurance benefits withheld.

What am I going to do about it?
There is nothing I can do about it.
This is America.
The land of the Corporation. Read more about America: The Land of the Corporations

Dear Mr Obama,
I'm a single parent, I have had three bad years, my younger son got taken away on April 28th of 10. Let me tell you a little about it. I was with a guy ans was staying in a travel trailer for just temporary and just a few days short of moving in to the house they take my son and as of Dec 10th, I'm no longer with that guy, and I have a two bedroom duplex I have complied with everything they said for me to do. Ii have a place and I've kept the bills up and I've been here in the same place for two years now it will be three in March. I get my son once a month for just a couple of days or a week if holidays. My son is twelve an he wants to come home an they won't let him and they won't tell me why. I've done all court dates, and have not missed one. They have me paying child support for him being in foster care and I only get $175 a month for. I've been fighting to get my disability and they wont accept me. I've been denied twice now and I've appealed again. I'm not able to work and they wont believe me and they want $75 a month, and I can only afford $10 a month with the other bills I have to pay. My visits with my son are non-supervised I don't do drugs, I've never beaten him and he always went to school and I did everything for my son and I just want my son home. Every mother that gets their kids taken away gets another chance to see if they mess up. I've never have had that chance.I'm the only one he has. His dad died of a heart attack when he was 7months old so he never got to know his dad. Please please help me. I'm a good mom and my others I raised and they graduated high school and are good adults. I've been fighting for three years and I just don't know where to turn. I have done all I can do. I don't want to be a once a month mom to my son. He is only twelve an he will be thirteen soon. PLEASE PLEASE CAN YOU HELP ME ? Read more about Can you help me get my boy home?

Sir,
I don't know whether you have time to read this or not. But, still I will write this letter to you to save my sister Rinkle. She is from Pakistan. Last month, she was raped & forcefully converted to Islam. Today unfortunately, the court has given order to live her with raped guy whereas, she openly denied to go there. Her father tried to set fire on him. This has now become a regular incident in Pakistan where minorities are raped continuously & later they were sold to the Whorehouse agents...PLZ SIR HELP MY SISTER TO HELP HUMANITY. Read more about Civil Rights/Human Rights

The reason behind me saying this is because I have had a brother who went to prison and have had family friends who, with the same result, obviously ended in the system. I mean who hasn’t right?
My concern is mainly the freedom of speech. I mean everything else is taken away. I believe regardless of an act that put them there, not that I am justifying it as ok, to do anything above the law or hurt your own community or people around you, but they are also human beings that eat, breath, sleep and no we don’t share the same DNA body type or color but at the end of the day we all have red blood running threw are veins.
What I am trying to stress is that everybody has a voice. Some express it through music, writing poetry, etc.. Though I've seen for many years the system trying to discover ways to change or help the community through churches, education, degrees and all that has helped but not enough. I feel if you give OUR PEOPLE, yes our people, my brother, sister--your cousin, aunt, uncle--whom ever it may be, an out, then it may not only be to express them self but also to have that outlet they crave. Especially when they crave it from being inside closed walls.
Some people may say this is crazy. Some believe that our prisoners are there to do their time. Some don't care what happens to them in prison. And this is not just coming from the victims but people who barley know these peoples' back ground. Just because they are now in the system they feel as if they lost all emotion or feeling or heart towards these people we call animals people who we look down on as the lowest of lows sum of the earth call names because of the action that landed them there that same attitude today is only making it worse instead of helping them recover and bounce back.
By not caring and giving these prisoners help, you're not only hurting them with the grudges or hate you store inside you but you also are hurting your self because at the end of the day god hears your hate.
So I feel that having studios in prisons, maybe even worldwide, could give that man on suicide watch another reason to live or the man behind bars serving life an opportunity to express feelings that been suppressed and bound inside him while he is imprisoned behind walls. All I can say is, "Why not? Why not start here? Why not better THE (US)A? Start from the source of the problem and work your way to a better you a better me and a better U.S.A. And why stop there?"!

Symone Read more about Want recording studios throughout the prisons in the USA

I am a 48 year old female which worked full-time until my Mother became ill and needed full-time care. WE have an income of $955 a month....rent is $434 a month non-subsidized, and additional $450 in bills for car insurance (11 year old car ) electric , telephone etc....

WE have no extras and try to live very frugally... MY mom is bed ridden and a hospice patient and has many varied medical conditions. My mom paid into medicaid funds( THIS IS a FEDERAL fund that is sent to the states for distribution) for over 40 years without complaint and I have paid into same funds for over 25 years without even a question of even if we want to with the knowledge that if it was needed we would be able to use it .... THIS is a government promise made to each and every citizen every time you took funds out of my pay every week.

Because of the raise in social security on 01-01-2012 of a whole $33 dollars my mom is losing her medicaid by over pay of $4 ....Lets actually count how much more this is rent goes up by $19 and electric goes up by additional $15 so we have an additional $34 in monthly costs and I am told for my mom to get medicaid reinstated she would have to pay out of pocket every month $697 ( out of $955 a month).

Can you tell me where I can get the funds for this? I used to be proud to be an American but am losing faith more each and every single day. I didn't think my Government was in the Business of killing off their citizens like other governments. Lets be honest about this, when I went to recertify my mom for her medicaid, I had a lady applying for medicaid at the same time with a Mexican passport.... DID she donate to the system? When ? HOW ? I would like to know how this is going to be fixed and I don't want to hear by 2014.....my mom WILL NOT LIVE TO 2014 WITHOUT HER MEDICAID BENEFITS Read more about Mr. President Obama RE: medicaid

Hello, I want to ask you why you don't stop poverty?.... Like their are kids who are dieing of hunger and for shelter I wanted to say why dont you help them? They are still human like us. And the rich should donate food, money, shelter, and even medical. So why don't you do anything about it? It's so sad and all you people are doing is crossing your hands and not doing anything like nothing even happens in this world well it does!!!!!! And you have to help them!!!!! This is happening almost everywhere and you the government don't do anything about it, really?!?!!! So please do something for them please its so hard, scary, and even sad to see them like this so PLEASE HELP THEM they need help!! Read more about poverty

mr obama im writing i do want to see you back in the white house again . i think you are doing a good job but i think you should have the doctor that is giving drugs out to people should be called in about 5 days after they get their meds to bring them in and show count cause i know of a lot of older people that is on medicade that is selling them to get the money out of them and getting welfare and food stamps and check that has boy friends and girlfriends living together and getting 2 or 3 check and food stamps that is wrong that they can get away with this get it stopped amd that will save a lot of money in the states . thanks  loretta Read more about about our tax dollars

I hope that this letter reaches the president. I am a single mother of three beautiful children. My husband and I separated this past year. It has been a burden trying to support the children on my own. I did file for child support. But it has been a long process. I have been waiting for a court date for a ruling since July 2011. I am employed and have been employed at the same company for the last 6 years. My husband has decided that he will no longer continue to support his children until he receives a notice from the court. I bring home 2100.00 per month. My rent is 1800.00 per month. I was told that my income exceeded the amount for medical assistance (Medical ) or Food stamps because my income exceeded. How can my income exceed when I have only 200.00 for food and bills to take care of three children and myself. My children and I are struggling and in danger of being homeless. My gross is 2400.00 a month and I was told that my gross income pushed me over the limit! I had been trying to be able to leave an a bad marriage for years, I have been on the Section 8 waiting list for 2 years. I cannot believe that I do not qualify for any assistance. I work, pay taxes. I am not asking for a hand-out. I am asking for help. This is what I feel is wrong with our system. So many people abuse the system. They lie, have no intention of working and use any means they can to avoid working.  Continue to have numerous children with different fathers so that the children can take the mothers name. They live in nice homes, drive nice cars, and somehow they are never caught , and people such as myself, who I feel the system was put in place to help can not get a helping hand at all. The economy can never get better if we have people that continue to abuse the system and the system is not allowed to help those who truly need help. Read more about Welfare Reform