How Would You "Fair"?

On April 7, 2011, a small group of students at St. Edward’s University hosted a “Well-Fair” in the hopes of educating other members of their community around the availability and accessibility (or not) of different types of welfare services to different populations. I (Margaret) attended the event in hopes of learning more about what services, if any, are available to felons.

The welfare programs that were represented at the Well-Fair were things like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Public Housing/Section 8 Housing, Medicare and Medicaid, and Women, Infants and Children (WIC). As I walked around to each booth and told them of my felon status, I found that I was unfortunately not going to be able to receive services from many of these assistance programs. First, I visited the TANF table and was told that, no, if I have felon status I am not eligible to receive assistance. The food stamps representatives told me the same thing. At the Public Housing booth, the outlook was bleak even if I wasn’t a felon! The Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) waitlist is so full they currently aren’t even accepting applications, and the waitlist isn’t expected to open for a couple of years – ouch!

On to the Medicare and Medicaid tables… Since I am definitely not 65 yet I wouldn’t be eligible for Medicare. And Medicaid turned me away too – they also don’t offer assistance to felons. Lastly, I visited the WIC table. Not being pregnant and not having any children, this was pretty much a shot in the dark. However, I did find out that if I was pregnant, I wouldn’t be able receive assistance. The representative did reassure me that once my child was 1 year old he or she would be eligible to receive services, but during my pregnancy and the first year of the child’s life, we would be on our own.

All-in-all, it was a pretty depressing and frustrating experience. I can’t even imagine if I was being turned down for all these services I was actually in need of, instead of just getting the information as a curious participant! The only ray of hope came from the National Alliance on Mental Illness representatives, who kindly assured me that if I had a mental illness they would be happy to advocate on my behalf even if I was a felon.