Maine’s economy is not doing so well. Unfortunately, I am not seeing how welfare recipients are receivng breaks because there are not enough jobs to go around. They can still get sanctioned for not meeting the programs guidelines – not finding a job. That is a sad truth here in Maine.

I would have liked to have believed that Maine was a more community based state. Indeed, many have stepped up to the plate, donating money for fuel assistance, donating food and clothing, etc., in this downed economy. This is great. It is what should be happening.

But what about those who are receiving welfare benefits but cannot meet the requirements? The biggest requirement failure being that they cannot, after months of searching and disappointments, find a job? What is to be done? They lose benefits, leaving them unable to pay rent and utilities, purchase food, and pay their childcare providers.

Now, I am not saying that their isn’t the occasional recipient who does not do what they are supposed to do. Don’t get me wrong here. I am referring to those who are doing everything that they can to comply with the requirements set forth by the DHHS. Many don’t believe that a person would lose benefits just because they couldn’t find a job, but it is a hard reality for a lot of Maine families.

I feel bad for those who are just finishing up college. They should be able to find jobs, but are having it rough. Let’s not forget that there are not enough jobs to go around, and that those with the most experience will likely get the jobs first.

(The following is in regard to welfare recipients. I am fully aware that more people than just welfare recipients are looking for work, but that is not the aim of this article series. If you have the time, perhaps you would like to write an article geared toward non-welfare recipients and jobs. I am willing to post articles from others here, providing that they are well thought out and intelligent. See the guidelines on this blog.)

So, how can we ensure that welfare recipients have access to jobs here in Maine, and that these jobs are a means to helping the recipients to ‘get off the state’? A good question, indeed. I do not pretend to know the answers here, but I can offer up some ideas on the subject.

First of all, everyone deserves to make a decent wage, and the minimum wage does not really cut it. Not when prices on everything keep going up. Are we all really convinced that gas prices will continue to drop? Or do some believe that they will begin to rise again? Either way, there are other prices to factor in to our daily living expenses.

So, we first have to decide that we will start people out at minimum wage for training time, but then give them an automatic raise as soon as training is over. Then they need to continue to receive raises at the same rate as everyone else. And, their should not be caps placed on the amount that anyone (not solely welfare recipients) can make. It is a sad thing when a newly hired, not even trained, individual makes almost as much as a person who has worked at the same place for five or more years.

We also need to remember that welfare recipients are not stupid. They are perfectly capable of working. They are just down on their luck. What gives anyone the right to bring them down any further?

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Now, onto my ideas for jobs for welfare recipients. The ‘professionals’ who would have some of these jobs will not miss on opportunities completely, and giving these jobs to welfare recipients will help to even things out a bit.

I will start with the jobs that have already been available for someone to do. I believe that these jobs would bring in much needed income to welfare families.

First, there will have to be some people to train recipients in both this section and the next. You could leave this up to professionals, I suppose – and, indeed, some training would have to be done by someone who has already been trained and is a professional. But, once one welfare recipient is trained, you can eliminate the need for that professional further down the road. The recipient would be certified and could train others.

• I have an idea that it would be great if each welfare community had at least one qualified mechanic. Sometimes, this would even prevent a welfare recipient from losing work. There are vouchers for mechanic services. The recipient could simply talk to their case worker to be sure that there is money available. The mechanic could do the work, confident that their pay will be on its way in a day or two.
• Home healthcare workers would be a great addition to any community.
• Daycare centers for children of welfare recipients. Each welfare community should have one of these, as well as a couple of babysitters in case families do not want their children in a daycare setting. This is very important. It is also very important that these babysitters are paid at the same rate as the providers at any daycare center. One ‘apartment’ can be dedicated to the daycare center. With a three bedroom daycare center, there would be plenty of room for an office, and for nap time. The person running the show, as well as the people working under him or her, should all be welfare recipients/former welfare recipients.
• Lawn maintenance and other yard care. Yep. Here is an easy one for welfare recipients. While living in low-income housing, I noticed that there were usually three people working this once a week for the eight available apartments. There is no reason why welfare recipients cannot do this job, even if they use the low-income communities machinery.
• Painting, inside and out. I believe that I made my views on this clear in the last article.
• Snow removal can be done by those who do the lawn care, therefore providing them with winter work. They would also be responsible for winter and spring preparations: Getting homes, gardens, etc., ready for the seasonal changes. This would extend to shoveling for those who cannot.
• Cleaning when someone moves out. Why would we hire a professional for this. There is no reason why each community cannot have one welfare recipient who can do this. And yes, she/he can clean the carpets as well.
• Maintenance workers. This may require professional training. I am not sure.
• The same thing applies to plumbers and electricians.

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Here are some other ideas for jobs that welfare recipients could do in their low-income communities:

 

• Seasonal decorating. We all like for our homes and communities to look nice for all of the different holidays and seasons. Keeping in mind the holidays and sabbats of all of the people in residence, someone, or a few people, could be decorating the community.
• Each community should have one person who composts. This compost would be available to the community members, and the community members would be required to donate their compostable materials. To go along with this, it wouldn’t hurt anything if this person also had rabbits, and possibly hens, to help the compost bins along. They would obviously have to read up on everything on composting, and understand when to add animal droppings to the compost.
• Someone with a pick-up truck could make it possible for the community to recycle everything possible, by delivering the recyclables to the closest recycling center.

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Every low-income community should have a way to earn money. This would, again, provide jobs to welfare recipients. There are many ideas out there for businesses for such a purpose. As a matter-of-fact, it would do each community good to incorporate as many of these (or their own) ideas into their communities as possible.

 

Here are the ideas that I have come up with:

 

• Tax preparation. Each community may only need one, and this person can go to school for the position.
• Thrift and/or consignment shop – not just for clothing and toys.
• Used book store.
• A general store/small grocery store.
• Farmers.
• A diner.

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Landlords would live nearby, so the main office would be within or right outside of the community. Here again, the employees would be hired from inside the community.

 

Think about how much experience these people would be getting. Experience that would be helpful in getting jobs outside of the community. It would give them each a leg up. They would have the opportunity to prove that they are mature, responsible adults, who will take any job that they have seriously.

 

Another option for jobs is a small community based school which I will discuss in a future article.

 

Shannon