TheMainEvent2010
Introduction/Definition/etc
StaringBeauracracyInTheFace2010 was preparation for
this, the Main Event...
20100802 11.36 am Jerry
Body
Getting There/Office Differences
So after going into the Federal Social Security
satellite office, encountering security guard with attitude,
testosterone poisoned and likely [artificially] pumped up ego,
by contrast, after getting to a remote county site,
finding the right non descript building,
going into a county building, was simple, sign in,
get a sticky visitors badge,
go to a suite, check in with the front desk office
wait in a busy crowded waiting room with people
likely looking for housing, and I'm going for
an appointment after waiting for likely over a decade,
coming up on a list, get called in early,
while trying to make sense of the papers,
a second person, not listed is in on the "interview"
so double teamed...
Round 1
Pleasantries are skipped, the person asks
if I've done the paperwork, filled out the forms,
no I have questions to know how to fill out
the paper, second person says she will stay
and person appointment is with leaves,
so spend much time asking questions
about the questions, unclear,
like is SSDI in this list of questions,
I state I need a copy of everything I turn
in, but don't get it, as that was to the
other person, when changing people,
that gets lost in the shuffle
Like Temple Grandin, and I mentioned
dyslexia and autism, Temple was the one
she had heard of, I say she's popular,
but I'm more Jerry Newport (Mozart And The Whale,
book and movie, he asks your birthday and
autographs/signs with a calculation he does
in his head of days you've been alive...)
I say that's nice, try calculating how long
I will be alive, this housing process is sickening to me,
and since my name is Jerry, they think it's me,
taken literally, just more like Newport than
Grandin, and there are different types of
Autism involved here, one classical
another Asperger's, I'll skip the functioning
levels as just saw http://vimeo.com/12901883
at Autreat, and other Drew Goldsmith's
Rolling Credit and Amanda Baggs
not verbal, per se, but communicate very
well by technology, and through parent
co presenter (described more on
http://autreat.com/aut10presentations.html )
so questions like Communications,
language spoken at home = Geek,
English for me, I can't make sense
out of the poorly designed questions
lists of programs, conflicting, is
SSDI an employment disability?
It's from work quarters, SSI has
no work requirement, and is needs based,
and the ",etc" makes answering questions
impossible. Do you do x,y,z or anything else?
How do you answer a closed question
Yes or No to something with a miscellaneous
etc in it? Because Etc can be anything...
Yes or No is the only answer they accept,
so Do you receive gifts? Yes or No...
Yes, I get holiday gifts, and birthday gifts,
upon reverse questioning, more interrogation
coming my way, good cop/ bad cop like,
they are looking for "Does anyone fill your
refrigerator with groceries?" No.
Transportation. Cars registered to you?
No, use of other vehicles? Yes, I rent
car sharing sometimes
and Occasionally use a parents car,
car sitting when out of town / country,
and how I got to the conference,
so I listed it, what I remembered,
they want license plates, owners, etc.
More detail than I remember,
but I've answered truthfully...
And Tips? No.
And property? No.
And inheritance? IRAs, Annuities, etc...?
I had 401k when employed but that is
decades gone, pre becoming homeless,
so I know a little, but it's mostly income
stuff, YES/NO questions, and at least one
I answered No and provided explanation,
there is no comments, just closed ended
questions, "If Yes, explain" type stuff,
If No, I really need to say why it's no,
since the questions are lousy...
And it's not an official like form,
clearly used, but probably not vetted by the
administration well, no form number,
no revision date, and everything is
you must respond or you will be
found unqualified for benefits,
services, denied, etc..
Threats
The Welcome page is a threat,
of fraud and jail, fines, etc,
but the questions are more
"When did you stop beating your..."
So by analogy, while Temple Grandin makes
the treatment of cattle more humane,
they are still being slaughtered,
the housing process is abusive
and potentially killing, someone in
the waiting room broke down, and pulled
inside to discuss her personal issues,
might have missed an appointment,
or in dire need of services. I wonder
how many had been in shelters,
in daily treatment for a year,
or how many are just paying too much
percentage of income for housing, > 30% is one
of the qualifying criteria... But Project
Based Section 8 sets rent at 30%
minus medical expenses, so I'd thought
I'd never come up on the list, and others
had previously said so, not authoritatively,
but rumor and misinformation, perhaps,
years of being on the waiting list,
and living in an unhealthy place for me,
lack of sleep and gangs, gunshots
nearby, six+ guys surrounding me at rail,
people shot and killed and animals shot nearby
and that was a criteria on one original application form,
unsafe housing THAT WAS NOT ASKED,
and should have been...
Not to mention we've now got Rats
RatsAndOtherParasiticLifeForms ...
Emotionally Bruised, Wounded and Safety Issues
I feel violated, my privacy completely wasted,
even medical HIPAA theoretically can tell you
who has accessed your records
and has fines for disclosing but
this packet of forms requires
that you give authorization for
various nondescript generic organization
and types of organizations without even listing them all
to be contacted and release information
about you, credit agencies, former employers,
lots of government agencies, federal, state, local,
employment assistance, but limited to
not useful for getting tax information,
but they are looking for income
and some gestapo type inquisition
the assumption is that people coming
and wanting and needing help are
liars, thieves, crooks, drug dealers,
welfare queens/ kings, pimps and
God knows what else, and Fairfax
has that attitude, while the party line
is "It's Fairfax" and we have money,
the down side is that anyone who doesn't
is slime, scum, lower than human,
with the neighbors of the housing office
is NRA, so they know how to take
care of things, I guess
(see Nov 13, 2009 shooting of an unarmed
former special forces estranged dad
for picking flowers in a nearby
plant nursery...)
In my current neighborhood, we hear
gunshots on occasion, police vehicles
sometimes, helicopters searching sometimes,
sirens a fair amount, and ambulances,
fire trucks were very common, I sometimes joked
they were teaching people how to cook,
firemen amused, mostly, but I'm
guessing it's fire responds quicker
to personal safety issues than police...
And I've called 911 a few times here..
Reporting one rapid crackling sounds,
confirmed heard with a neighbor,
and a swat type team came by,
determined it was firecrackers by the trash,
and they didn't mind much,
said call if you need to.
Another time heard gunshots
in the early am, while asleep,
wondering car doors, backfiring, dumpster trash lid,
trash truck, but later confirmed with
a neighbor, gunshots... Maybe a
drug deal gone bad, early am is when
heroin addicts are jonesing (sp?) the most,
withdrawl over night and other issues,
much like cigarette smokers and nicotine
withdrawl, or caffeine, I used to say
when training at Detoxes, "you can
take away people's narcotics,
by the time they get to detox,
they might know it's not good for them,
but don't mess with their coffee and cigarettes.."
Virtually Unconscious
So it's a couple hours of slugging back
and forth, questions, sign this,
over 15-20+ forms, how can someone
understand all those, they were sent
ahead, and a few extras, so I know what types
of information was requested and how,
but some that I didn't have time to read,
only lawyers specializing in that area
could make an informed
consent to most of this stuff,
and I questioned near the end,
after they had photocopied my birth
certificate, "Says right here on the
bottom, it's illegal to photo copy"
but must be exceptions for governments?
You don't read the fine print,
it usually says things you wouldn't expect,
and clearly the roles of the people on
the front lines is to force people to sign
stuff, but they have little to no knowledge
of how things are decided, I asked
about the process, "Is it a mystery?"
or I'm guessing they think I'm
and all like me are incapable
of understanding such things,
but as a former fed, I've seen bureaucracy
that might make their heads spin,
military has it's own variation,
and that's before clearance information...
What Else Is Missing?
And there was no introduction to the
program you are applying, forced to
give information for, so there is
no incentive to cooperate, besides
the threats on the Unwelcome pages...
Research
The housing forms available online
give a hint as to what happens,
but I've gotten some rumors wrong,
60 days to fill the voucher (plus can ask
for extension), once approved, if available,
and the forms online have something about
approving a place, so might be a vacancy
and landlord willing,
but they have to go inspect it,
slowing the process further,
and landlords can charge up to 2 months
as security deposit, and moving costs
and application fees, adding up very quickly
with unexpected, surprise,
you've come up on the waitlist costs,
but screening is up to the landlord,
so very quickly the costs of doing this is going to be
over 30% of recent disability income,
but they probably only count past payments,
not costs incurred to move in to their program,
so another barrier, and they can't say
how long it will take to know if approved,
it's done like it's a favor, we Fairfax might
grant, or maybe granting you
something when the process should be
transparent and fair, but they must
assume if the process is known
people will abuse it, but like the
Fried Green Tomatoes movie with
an elderly woman after some young
thing steals her parking space,
rams into the young things' car,
and states defiantly "I have better
insurance". Or Judy Tuneudo's (??)
Crash, Yep, Bad Driver (find exact quote
and reference?)
Survey Says...
But nothing was really funny,
the process is inhumane, insensitive,
the power differential is too different,
the people think badly, or little to nothing
of the applicants, and it violates
privacy, probably common law
and needs to be reviewed for process,
I know there is a lot of paperwork required for HUD,
and I recommend anyone going bring someone
else with you, preferably a lawyer or paralegal,
since they will be the only ones to understand
the forms and implications, but at least
a witness, since double teaming by
an unnamed person, new person training or assisting,
for a "interview" which is really a required filing/
submission deadline and little to no information coming the
other way, a smirk or laugh when asking
for and getting my personal information,
like we are beating you down,
and another response "we have to investigate"
which is really another form of "we don't trust you"
and have to hear it from everyone else first,
officials, neighbors, employers, law enforcement, etc,
before we believe you and we have to keep an eye on you,
because all you types are scum, liars, cheats, etc...
Sensitivity Training Needed
At least with peer stuff, you have been through
a similar process so there is not as much
differential in life experiences..
Sensitivity training needed in the minimum,
Reasonable Accommodations that I mentioned
but that is a different department
only one sign in the room included that,
and even the calculator had the keys
wrong, = was ** so maybe an accounting thing,
no spreadsheet programs available,
the computer was probably just for the staff,
looking up definitions, addresses and phone numbers
would have helped me, using a spreadsheet program
to calculate total expense, I'm doing from memory,
or booting to my own Linux based operating system,
other might be used to Mac instead of corporate Windows,
etc, I could unplug the Ethernet/ internet cable,
but safe browsing on Firefox instead of likely Internet Explorer with
caching, capturing passwords, cookies, and
corporate government monitoring,
maybe wifi out to a local rare cafe, and a calming down,
plus the fluorescent lights making me weird,
while natural light available in the windows,
they might have well been shining a
bare light bulb in my face like classical
movies on interrogations...
Privacy In Government
I don't think they understand
most feds or DOD and others
are not to answer questions,
default is loose lips sink ships,
and privacy is not an assumption
of guilt, but a right, so trying
something experimental (EIV?) on
people is likely unjust, experimental
systems don't have the safeguards
required and people aren't trained
on the weakness and liabilities of the system,
to advise, so when something comes out,
it'll be lots of handwaving like
recent reports of WikiLeaks.org
on war in Afghanistan and other such stuff.
Veterans and other benefits for uniformed
people probably have better safeguards
and security, and know who all can
access information, and having had some
of my relatives die recently, I can't say
who all has known who I'm related to,
even Project Based Section 8 forms
and consents I'm guessing all sorts
of people could have gained access,
the usual standard is double locked
door, filing area and file cabinet keys,
CARF being the highest certification...
Social workers and benefits people gossip,
like most others but probably more,
even the new inspecting person telling me about
others, which would be a violation...
Mail with full names and addresses left at front desks,
on purpose, between organizations, housing to
Regional Recovery office, snide receptionists
with sick twisted hatreds, and it's no
wonder its closed...
TKO
So finally ,TGIF, it was when leaving,
after they stopped beating my head against
forms and privacy violations,
probing personal questions, from strangers,
forced coercion on non informed
nonsensical questions with threats
of law and punishment for wrong answers,
and they pretty much make people wish
they were dead, are assumed to be scum,
and builds the egos of those interrogating,
(the laughs can be interpreted many ways)
and does nothing but harm to people
applying, for something that should be
transparent, fair, just and accurate,
with grievance procedures, assistance
in filling out forms, getting information,
rolling submission times, and/ or extensions,
they have all the time, we have none,
and many more things/ changes than
I can quickly elaborate on..
Time Out
And it took me days of calming
and doing other things to get to a point
where I'm just not doing &&%$&*$$##@....
Commuting
Leaving, I have to get some exercise,
despite only a few hours sleep again
the night before and bike major roads,
like Rt 50 and find an entrance to a park trail,
and hits the Cross County trail,
up Wakefield park, where MORE
mountain bike races and clubs meet,
and skateboard park
(see DocsInProgressFilmFestival2010
as kids in Silver Spring want similar
and did a summer camp video about it)
Taking a turn after sprinting over the beltway
and construction and hear a crunch,
the car behind or next to me has
hit another car. We all stop, and I tell
the people in the left hand turn lane
they are witnesses and need to stop,
and exchange information, and the
Lincoln Mark something and Jaguar,
he claims responsibility saying he hit
her instead of me on a bike, didn't
see me in the shade, sun in his eyes,
etc... I wait around in the heat for a while,
she calls and gets to crying , yelling,
he takes responsibility when her brother
shows up, yelling at her in an Asian language
I don't understand, and I call the police
and they exchange, I give my info,
but get none in return, I didn't see
it just heard something and on the
scene afterwards, but rattled that
someone almost hit me, and he
need to slow down, be more careful,
as I almost got broken bones,
and/or coma / killed
due to his driving...
Conclusion
Summary of experience or similar
Discussion
A place for feedback on the page presented
Page History
20100802 Jerry
- Jerry created this page to rant on something that is just not a fair process,
- and maybe give some reasons and suggestions for changes and improve
- how others who go through it...
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