[A good friend of mine -- a University of Michigan-trained Social Worker up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula (hence the "YOOP"MSW with "UM" implied in the middle) and a really engaging Latina writer -- asked me to publish this story here on her behalf because, essentially, I have a lot of followers. So please give it a look. This is Part 2 of a series that, if people seem interested (and maybe if they don't) will contain Parts 3 to however many.]
PART ONE IS HERE
You really don’t want to have a severe disability of any kind in Michigan. Especially now. This has been an early cold winter for many people. a lot of us were caught unprepared. For some it is hard to return to winter after such a short summer, and after the cold last year.
It will be hard for a lot of people who don’t have enough food. Who are already showing signs of poor malnutrition. No wonder the meth labs are staking out the north woods. Like in “Winter’s Bone”, aren’t they like the carrion flies that flock to desperation?
So if you can somehow manage with the SNAP cuts, and you aren’t starving, how about having to rely upon a toddering child foster care system. Or very limited housing options. You could try to live independently if you have a severe physical disability. Want to live independently? Find your own caregivers. Manage your own budget. Figure out how to get to your appointments given the existing transportation options.
There are still very few safeguards for our most vulnerable people. Aged, the disabled (mentally or physically), those who are eligible for disability ten ways from Sunday -- but who are never going to get it because of the monthly quotas disability eligibility workers have to comply with if they want to keep their jobs.
Far too few resources are stretched far too thinly across this rural northern peninsula. Good luck with wheelchair transportation in the ice and snow. Hope you live in a decent enough community to get some of the care and support you deserve this holiday season.
Think of the disabled, the poor, the few crumbs this winter. How about that, you filthy million-billion-trillionaires. You mega-rich. Can you sleep at night? You have a clever accountant and don’t pay any taxes. So the country crumbles. Our people freeze, starve or suffer indignities and harm because you needed a new luxury yacht.
Remember the Lords of Karma? They are inescapable. Just reminding ya’.