Today while on my way to see Mom in the morning I passed a young woman panhandling at the 130th Street exit from northbound I-5. She looked miserable. Her head was down, she wasnt making eye contact, and her sign said something like, Homeless, unemployed, please help, Im sorry I have to ask. I wasnt able to get to my wallet in time, but her dejection bothered me so much I actually did several U-turns and went back to her. Parked, put on my blinkers, got out and went over to talk. Julie is from Chicago, and came here when she and two other women were offered a job here at a call center. She trained some other guys, one of whom let her know that hed been told he was to take over from here, and sure enough, she was let go. The three had been staying in a motel, but she couldnt keep up the rent, so she is crashing with an elderly couple from church. Shes applied at Fred Meyer, most local retailers, Amazon, shes done part-time cleaning gigs, shes clearly motivated and smart and well-spoken. She was frustrated that a lot of places will help with a resume, but her resumes fine and she still cant get hired. She also cant get welfare because she hasnt been here long enough, though shes gotten some bus tickets and the couple shares their food and spare bedroom with her, so shes not quite homeless yet, but she doesnt have a phone, which makes it hard to job hunt. She said, Its so discouraging when people yell, Get a job! I want to say, Im trying my best. If you havent been in my position maybe you feel like this couldnt happen to someone unless they deserve it. But thats not true. I hope she finds something. I hope giving her a hug and some money and listening to her helped her day. She was a really nice young person, and it sucks that our country cant do better by people like her.
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 04:24:55 +0000
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