Hopes dim as isle Daphne Kaauamo and Kesia Rudolph are scared -- scared they won't be able to find a job to support their families, scared they won't be able to pay the rent.
welfare benefits run out
Self-employment is an option, but
How to cope
logistics make it very difficultBy Pat Gee
pgee@starbulletin.comThe two -- living in different public housing projects -- are among 738 welfare recipients who have less than a month to scramble for some kind of job or other welfare benefit such as Supplemental Security Income/Social Security.
"All this time (five years), I've been looking for a job -- hotel, fast food -- I try anything ... all over the island. But no one calls me," Kaauamo said.
They must either work 32 hours a week, apply for disability or try to qualify for a number of other extensions. They will continue to get medical benefits and/or food stamps, but "it doesn't pay the rent," says Maile Shimabukuro, a staff attorney for the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii.
Eventually, about 2,000 people in Hawaii face homelessness by the time their benefits end at the termination of five years of welfare, called Temporary Assistance to Needy Families. Legal Aid is working to provide assistance to these families. Many of its clients will join the ranks of those cut off.
Kaauamo is a single mother of three teenagers. She attended the first of several community meetings Oct. 30, sponsored by Legal Aid to inform welfare recipients of their options.
She gets $640 a month from welfare and $40 a month in child support and lives at Puuwai Momi, or Halawa Housing.
Kaauamo said she has volunteered with security at Puuwai Momi the last three years and has tried getting a job through First to Work, which helps people on welfare find work.
But Shimabukuro said the agency really just handles case management because it does not have the staff to assist its clients in finding work.
Shimabukuro said welfare clients facing cutoff have to be paid for 32 hours of work a week, so volunteer work does not count. The good news is that there is no minimum earnings requirement, so Legal Aid is urging clients to "try self-employment, like baby-sitting, selling crafts, cookies, anything," she added.
"If they can show they are working 32 hours a week, they can get a $200 cash employment subsidy, which also allows them free car insurance," Shimabukuro said.
And under federal statutes for public housing tenants like Kaauamo, "they are entitled to rent reduction that can go down to zero if they have zero income," Shimabukuro said.
Kaauamo said she would try to make and sell things, but appeared to be overwhelmed at the prospect.
Rudolph lives at Kuhio Park Terrace in Kapalama with her two children, 11 and 8 years of age, and grandniece.
Because she is a Micronesian, Rudolph is only entitled to state benefits, not federal assistance.
She said she plans to make Micronesian skirts to sell but was at a loss at where to begin.
"My problem is, I have limited material, and if nobody wants to buy my stuff, I cannot buy the material," said Rudolph, who started thinking aloud about where she could buy discounted material.
When Shimabukuro told her the first thing she had to do to be self-employed was to go to the state Department of Taxation office downtown to get a general excise tax license, Rudolph had questions.
"I don't have a car ... or a phone" to ask the office to mail her the application, or ask directions to the office, she said.
Rudolph said at one time she worked at a fast-food outlet, but quit when problems at home disrupted her work.
"I'm really afraid. I've been looking all this time. I'm most concerned about losing my apartment," she said.
Rudolph has spent the last three years volunteering at Kokua Kalihi Valley (a family services clinic), but stopped last month.
Her reason? "I feel sad inside. Because when I applied for employment (there) they said they can't hire me because they don't have enough money."
Shimabukuro said when the welfare reform law went into effect in 1996, the state Department of Human Services was supposed to meet with each client and review their qualifications. But that has not happened, and people are trying to find out what they can do to help themselves, she said.
The Legal Aid Society of Hawaii recommends the following options for welfare recipients who face a termination of benefits: How to cope when
welfare aid runs out>> Make sure the state Department of Human Services has counted your months correctly. Benefits end after 60 months.
>> If you are or become unable to work, notify your caseworker immediately. Exempt are the disabled, those 60-plus years of age, care givers of ill household members or a child under 6 months old; VISTA or AmeriCorps volunteers; and domestic violence victims.
>> Increase your paid employment hours to 32 hours a week as soon as possible.
>> Apply for other benefits, such as Supplemental Security Income/Social Security, child support, public housing, veterans benefits, disability assistance, unemployment, workers' compensation, among others.
>> Request a rent reduction if you are in public housing.
>> Start saving money and cutting expenses.
>> Contact other organizations for help with employment and training, housing, financial and other assistance, including nonprofit agencies.
The Legal Aid Society of Hawaii, Queen Liliuokalani Children's Center, Hono-lulu Community Action Program and state Department of Human Services are sponsoring community meetings to inform welfare recipients of their options once benefits are cut off. For information, call the agency at 536-4302 or 800-499-4302. Isle meetings held on
post-welfare options
OAHU
>> Today, 5-8 p.m., Job and Health Fair, Susanna Wesley Center, Kalihi. Contact Joseph Wigfall, Honolulu Community Action Program, 696-4261.>> Nov. 28, 6-9 p.m., Queen Liliuokalani Children's Center, Windward, 53-516 Kamehameha Hwy. Contact Nalani Ubando, QLCC, 293-8577.
KONA
>> Nov. 26, 10 a.m.-noon, Salvation Army; or 3-5 p.m., Hookena School. Contact Andrea Alden, Legal Aid Society, 329-3910.
KAUAI
>> Nov. 29, 10 a.m.-noon, QLCC, 4530 Kali Rd. Contact Christiane Nakea, Legal Aid, 245-4728.>> Dec. 5, 10 a.m.-noon, Green Garden Restaurant, along Highway 50, Hanapepe.