Marta,
Several years ago(during the Bush adm.) the Atlanta Regional Commission(ARC), through their something or other, on Ageing, did an SSI outreach program here in East Point. That's when I first realized that we had a high proportion of poor people, also a lot of elderly.
I was a volunteer, and coordinated other volunteers. During training I learned that, I'm sorry I can't remember the figure, but, a lot of people who were eligible for SSI were not receiving it. I was really shocked cause you had to have a very low income($400/mo I think) to qualify. So like, what were these folks living on?
I was real excited to be involved in something so basically useful, but it turned out to be bullshit.
The first thing I noticed was that the people who were volunteering, probably for brownie points, that worked for various gov't agencies, like the Housing Authority, hated poor people, openly. Maybe more disrespected poor people, openly.
Then there was the follow up. I was suppose to assist folks who needed to apply. No one ever contacted me. I called a couple of times, and the lady who ran the show ate at the rest. and I asked her a couple of times, but they never got to the part where people actually got signed up for the program. I've always had the feeling that the loss of interest came from higher up than Patrice.
During the training and outreach, several DC muckety mucks showed up, and seemed impressed, so I guess Patrice(the ARC woman) got something out of it, but I'd venture to say she was the only one. Well, several folks probably got brownie points, but I doubt many poor folks were helped.
Then there was the time I volunteered at a day program for developmentally disabled adults, and the main activity was bible study. This was a state supported program. But that's another post.
Still looking for my niche-p