BY RUTH C. SCHATTEN
My husband and I have been married
for 36 years; we have 6 children and 7.5 grandchildren. After moving
from New Hampshire we realized that we had lost our Citizenship papers,
and the kids’ Birth Certificates, Social Security Cards, and any
document, such as our marriage licenses and well, basically, we lost any
documents that we owned. We did not worry for the kids were born here
in the USA. So they were covered, plus the school records had a copy of
the documents that were needed for them to transfer here.
One
of our children had a baby in New Hampshire, we ordered the baby’s
Social Security Cards and his Birth Certificate, BUT! His mother’s
papers were lost and she was born in California. Birth Certificates from
California take 6 months to get to you. She needed a job to be able to
maintain the baby. She was old enough to get a Driver’s License. She
needed her Birth Certificate, she needed her Social Security Card, and
she needed a Florida ID Card to be able to work.
We
decided to go to the States’ Driver’s License Bureau for a week and
spoke to everyone we could. After a week, one of the officers felt sorry
for her and gave her the Driver’s License. She told us that if we used
her name, she would loose her job.
Years later, our
finances went out the window and we decided to ask the State for my
husband’s Citizenship Certificate (it’s a very long story about his
Citizenship situation). According to the website, Homeland Security
(www. Dhs.gov/ index.shtm) they would help you get your papers if you
send them a notarized paper stating that you don’t have the money to pay
their fees. And send them a copy of any paper such as the food stamps
qualification notice. By the time that we decided to move on this…for we
thought that living in a society that helped each other, the decision
to apply for the Citizenship papers was going to be easy and in good
order…we were in bad straights.
A tree had fallen on the
roof of the mobile home where we lived. We had a big porch so we placed
tents there so that we could have a sort of roof over our head. Besides,
the county does not allow anyone to live in tents that can be seen from
the street, and our neighbors would call code, animal control, and any
thing that they could because we were not “Americans”. So, for one year,
we tried anything and everything that we could to earn money for the
family, we could not afford electricity and the trailer was bad enough
that it would be a fire hazard to turn the electricity on. So, my son
and my husband decided to go and walk 2 miles to a big intersection and
panhandle, beg for money with a sign. Most people were wonderful but
others would call them winos and would not help. We did find good
neighbors and good friends out of the deal, but we did not want to have
to beg, we wanted to go out there and make a decent living!
We
started by getting our computers out, and sending letters out to our
Governor, our US Representatives, and our Senators. The governor ignored
us completely, the representative, ignored us also. Rep. Grayson’s
people called us but they ultimately turned their backs on us. (The one
and only time that I have voted Republican, was against Grayson). If he
could not help a DEMOCRATIC family in need, what good was he? He did
Vote for him, though. We were about to give up, when Senator Bill
Nelson’s people called us and through them, my husband was able to get
his Citizenship and consequently his Social Security benefits.
In
between this time, the family needed to eat, and needed to get gasoline
for the generator and little things like health care. Neither one of us
had a family that could help us. My father is 97 years old and he needs
the help himself.
We decided to go out there and ask for
help to different agencies that help people in need. I figured that they
would be there to help us so that I could get my Citizenship papers and
could go out there and work.
I went to a place called
Brother’s Keeper. Part of a Catholic Church, in Downtown Ocala. A Mr.
Stephens asked me to come into his office. He wanted me to explain why,
being a Catholic, I was not going to church, so stupid me told him what
we were going through. If we did not have money for food, how could we
get enough money to go to church? He asked about my grandson, who was
living with us. Intrusive questions! And proceeded to give me a lecture
on why people like us needed to go out and FIND help instead of sitting
in his office and asking for things to be given to them for free.
Furthermore, he was going to call Children and Family, so that they
could go and take my grandson away from lazy good for nothings like us.
The
Children and Family people were in my land at 8 AM the next day to take
our grandson away from us. Why am I telling you all this?
Well,
what goes around comes around and people. Today I found a brown paper
bag from Brother’s Keeper in my newspaper asking people to give them
things for FREE! They want your donations so that they can help people
like me, for the holidays.
According to their rules, they
don’t help anyone that is younger then 62 with food. That they make you
feel like the shit, they think you are? Of course they do!! The Parish
is made up of the Catholic Elite of the County…and it’s not my fault,
that where I live, is part of that Parish. The other Parishes won’t help
you…unless you are a member of that Parish.
You know what
I say to all this? I am the 99% and I don’t give donations to a church
that caters to the 1%! Won’t you join me in this?
Send an
email to this church and let them know why the 99% does not give them
donations! If they want donations, they better go out there and help the
unemployed, the senior citizens, and the families that need the help!
Email: oeu@ocalafl.org
