Editor's Note: This article was written by Ryan J. Dowd - Executive Director of Hesed House, a Comprehensive Homeless Resource Center.
Hesed House: I don't need food stamps.
It was this time of year several years ago. The air was crisp, the sun was bright (but not particularly warm), the wind was brisk and the leaves on the ground were still pretty—not the soggy brown clumps that they would become in a few weeks. I had to go to the local “food stamp office” to get something signed for a grant Hesed House had recently secured. I found the office easily enough and went inside, heading for the receptionist.
The woman at the front desk was typing away dutifully, absorbed in her work. Not wanting to disrupt this hard worker, I quietly waited a few feet back, hoping she would see me at a convenient breaking point. I wasn’t in any hurry, and the day was going well.
After a minute or so, she did look up and I smiled at her. When I opened my mouth to tell her who I needed to see to get the document signed, she spoke first. Actually, “spoke” doesn’t really describe it.
It was a yell, maybe a scream. Her face contorted and spit flew in every direction. “CAN’T YOU READ!?!? THE SIGN SAYS THAT WE DON’T TAKE FOOD STAMP APPLICATIONS UNTIL 2 P.M. YOU LEAVE NOW AND COME BACK IN 20 MINUTES!!!” Picture “Gollum” from The Lord of the Rings getting angry—but wearing khakis and a nice blouse—and you’ll have an idea what I experienced.
I explained that I wasn’t there to apply for food stamps. I explained that I was the Executive Director of Hesed House there to get an official document signed. Her face instantly changed to all sweetness and hospitality. “Oh, yes sir. Right this way. Would you like a glass of water while you wait?” Within two minutes I met with the person I needed, had my signature and left.
As I drove back to Hesed House, I thought about the encounter. What if I had lost my job, struggled to pay my rent and put food on the table for my family? What if I had overcome my sense of pride and built up the courage to apply for food stamps? What if today was already the worst day of my life because I had to apply for food stamps for the first time?
I would have had to work with this woman. If I wanted to feed my family, I would not have had a choice. There are no natural consequences for treating poor people poorly. Poor people cannot yell back (not if they need food badly). Poor people cannot boycott (again, not if they need the food). Poor people cannot go to a different food stamp office (that isn’t allowed). Poor people can file a complaint, but an office that tolerates this behavior is not likely to take the complaint seriously—and they then risk retaliation, which puts the food stamps in jeopardy.
It is very easy to treat poor people poorly, because there is nothing they can do about it. I am glad that I had that experience with that receptionist several years ago. I knew instantly how Hesed House had to treat people, and not treat people. I am most proud of Hesed House when we treat homeless individuals and families like Bill Gates, and most disappointed when our hospitality (or lack thereof) reminds people who need us that they do, in fact, need us.
I don’t want to get all moralistic and preachy on you, but the next time you are talking to someone who has absolutely no power over you—the cashier at Taco Bell, the panhandler on the street, the janitor at your kid’s school—go out of your way to treat that person with all the dignity that their humanity requires. You may be the only one to do so that day.
FINAL NOTE: Out of respect for the wonderful individuals currently working to help individuals get their food stamps, I feel obligated to add that this particular office underwent massive changes a few years ago, and I doubt the particular individual I spoke to is still there.
Peace,
Ryan Ryan J. Dowd, Atty.,
MPA Executive Director
Right now there are at least 680,000 individuals in our state living in extreme poverty – well over three times as many people as live in Illinois' second largest city. These are individuals working to get by on $11,025 a year or less for a family of four. The vast majority of these individuals were experiencing extreme poverty before our current recession took hold. They were and are facing tremendous barriers between themselves and real opportunity in their lives. Human Rights Day reminds us that we, as a community, have a responsibility uphold the tenets of both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and our own Constitution by ensuring that everyone has their dignity affirmed and can fully participate in society.
The State of Illinois recently expressed its commitment to advance the principles of human rights outlined in our state constitution by establishing a Commission on the Elimination of Poverty. The Commission, which began its work in October, will create a strategic plan consistent with international human rights standards that will cut in half the number of people in extreme people in Illinois by 2015. This is an ambitious, yet achievable goal. With stakeholders from around Illinois engaged in the planning process, we will develop measurable policy and budget recommendations that will allow us to work collectively to help hundreds of thousands of individuals in our state realize their human rights.
Let us work together this Human Rights Day and everyday to ensure that the infrastructure of opportunity is in place for all residents of our great state.
Rev. Dr. Sid L. Mohn
President – Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights
Co-Chair – Commission on the Elimination of Poverty
