Visit, Quietly, To Learn What The Stakes Really Are
In the Spokane and Tri-Cities neighborhoods where I grew up, our family was unusual because we weren’t on welfare. My mother worked as a teacher and when the conversations in the family turned to welfare, my mother always said proudly: “I never went on welfare.”
I have seen welfare abuses in acquaintances. They buy concert tickets, expensive clothes and shoes, and don’t forget those necklaces! But the abuses are rare and believe me, I’ve seen the flip side of the coin.
I’ve met the single mother about to receive her degree in education from Eastern Washington University - with honors. Welfare made it possible. I’ve seen my friends in Kennewick who found themselves without jobs when Hanford downsized. Welfare helped them feed and clothe their children until they could find new jobs.
This is why I am against the current welfare reform. This is the analogy I use: It’s as if we were fishing in a pond and we didn’t catch any fish, so we decided to drain the pond. We haven’t solved the real problems behind welfare. The reform does not help those who need assistance for more than five years, those men and women really trying to get an education. And above all, I worry about the children affected by welfare reform.
I teach low-income kids at the Martin Luther King Family Outreach Center. I would like to challenge Gov. Locke, Spokane’s Mayor Geraghty and other City Council members - heck, anyone - to visit these kids - without publicity, without the need for a pat on the back. Find out how welfare reform impacts the daily lives of these children. I challenge elected officials to see how it is to live as a child in these communities. Why?
Because it is very easy to forget them. I know because I am able to do so every weekend. I can drive to the Arbor Crest winery and enjoy some wine before heading off to the movies to see a summer blockbuster.
On Monday mornings, however, I am firmly grounded in the reality of how fortunate I truly am. The problems, concerns and fears of those who are on welfare ring loud and clearly through the children. I am committed to making welfare work the way it should. And I know there are others like me.
The children. Don’t ever forget them. Please don’t drain the pond.
MEMO: Your Turn is a feature of the Wednesday and Saturday Opinion pages. To submit a Your Turn column for consideration, contact Rebecca Nappi at 459-5496 or Doug Floyd at 459-5466 or write Your Turn, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210-1615.