No food stamps for students!!!

carolinapooh, BSN, RN · Jun 6, 2005

i think it's a bit greedy for people like us, living in the U.S., to complain that we have to take out loans to go to school. So, we have to struggle to make ends meet for a little while...I'm okay with that because my reward will be an awesome job that i will LOVE! I think we should all be thanking our lucky stars that we even get such opportunities....or that if we were in TRUE poverty and wondering where our next meal would come from, or where we were going to sleep tonight- there is help!
I do feel empathy for everyone out there struggling to pay for school whatever State you are in. I personally feel that if it comes down to me sitting on the floor of a studio apartment eating Ramen noodles in the dark to afford school, I still have it a whole heck of a lot better than many other countries and i'll sure as heck take our "system that is broken" over living elsewhere.
OP's friend just may be able to explain to her school that if she doesn't work the 20 hours/week, she will starve to death and not be able to become a nurse-because she will be dead, of course. If she has to take out loans and max out all of her credit cards, it sucks, but welcome her to the club! Tens of thousands of students across the country are singing the same tune (whether they are in poor states or not). Let's say that she spends $100 on food/week (that's a lot especially if you are being thrifty). $400/month. So, if she works PT for about $5.00/hr take-home pay...she would only have to work 20 hours/week. :Melody: or borrow more money, but invest in a secure future for herself.
Oh, and immigrants haven't paid taxes, yet. Still doesn't mean they should starve.

There are immigrants, and then there are people here illegally. Immigrant status does not mean you are an illegal.

I have little problem with illegals - mainly because most of them work harder than some able-bodied Americans I've met. And they are paying taxes - sales taxes. Fine by me. I'd rather pay for the illegal working for cash in my local Pizza Hut than I would a person fortunate enough to be born here that just can't find it in him/herself to make an attempt to work when that person is PERFECTLY ABLE. THAT is what burns me up.

I wish I could pay to help the folks struggling to better themselves. I can think of no better investment for my tax dollars.

GrnHonu99, RN · Jun 6, 2005

She told me that the only way I could get foodstamps without working is if I were pregnant or had dependents. The fact that I was a student was not a factor. She told me that if I did work I could only make $1000/month before taxes. I am in Texas and those are the rules.

last year i was pregnant and scared sh*%less...i was 23 and still in college...i didnt want to ask my mom for help so i went to get gov. aid since i was still in school and needed help...i had never had any experience with gov aid before so i was completely clueless...i went to school full time and was a waitress on the weeked...lets see my gross reported income from the year before was like 5k (i worked less than 20 hrs a week and went to school full time). I was eligible for medicaid and WIC (only bc i was pregnant) I was NOT eligible for food stamps or cash assistance. I was told even though I was pregnant I was not eligible! I dont get it..i was as poor as poor could be and pregnant and nothing...so my thoughts were if I only made 5k a year and you HAVE to work, but i made too much money, you must have to make like 2/hr to get assistance..i mean how much less can you make than 5k a year(well besides not working at all)??! I dont get it!

My "caseworker" was so awful and mean....i told her i was having complications with my pregnancy and that i was considereing quitting my job as a waitress...she said id be eligible for NOTHING and was so mean about it...so i didnt quit..a few weeks later i miscarried (not bc of the job, atleast I dont think...)...

our system is broken! i, a hardworking student ready to graduate, could get nothing even though ive worked and paid taxes since i was 15y/o! I had always worked and supported myself but being a poor student and pregnant, there was just NO WAY I could afford all the dr bills and groceries every week!

I had a friend who told me all the time he was growing up his mom would just have kids to get the welfare check and then would go off and do what she wanted with it (not buying food and clothes for her 6 kids) she worked the minimum she could and just lived off the government..she got the works, cash assistance, food stamps you name it...and i got nothing..sigh...what is wrong with this picture??

abmsam · Jun 6, 2005

Again, I'll play devil's advocate.....

We must remember that college is a priviledge, not a right. We, as Americans, are so fortunate, in that we have a government that attempts to support the less fortunate. Granted, no system can please every one all the time. Sure, it's broken in some places, but are we so spoiled that we think that just because we are "nursing students that study hard and don't have time to work," we deserve government welfare? No. We don't. As much as I'd appreciate some help right now when times are tough, I AM NOT owed just because I choose to further my education. School is a priviledge that I am grateful to have, and if I must eat noodles and cornbread for the next two years, that's what I'll do. But I certainly do not expect my government to support me, simply because I made a good decision. If I'm grown enough to go to college, I'm grown enough to figure out how to support myself in the meantime.

GrnHonu99, RN · Jun 8, 2005

Again, I'll play devil's advocate.....
We must remember that college is a priviledge, not a right. We, as Americans, are so fortunate, in that we have a government that attempts to support the less fortunate. Granted, no system can please every one all the time. Sure, it's broken in some places, but are we so spoiled that we think that just because we are "nursing students that study hard and don't have time to work," we deserve government welfare? No. We don't. As much as I'd appreciate some help right now when times are tough, I AM NOT owed just because I choose to further my education. School is a priviledge that I am grateful to have, and if I must eat noodles and cornbread for the next two years, that's what I'll do. But I certainly do not expect my government to support me, simply because I made a good decision. If I'm grown enough to go to college, I'm grown enough to figure out how to support myself in the meantime.

yes, but that was not what my post referred to. I was working 20-30 hours a week at the time, pregnant and in school full time. I was eligible for nothing, but other individuals who choose to abuse the system can receive aid, I never said that I DESERVED to receive anything, just that it was unfair. I am also a college student living on next to nothing! You arent the only one eating ramen noodles every night for dinner (in fact im eating them now), i am no longer pregnant but i am not asking for money now either! When I needed the help was when I needed to pay for drs expenses, anyone who has been pregnant knows how those can stack up, especially when you dont have insurance. Additionally, my diet of ramen noodles doesnt fly when you are eating for two.

I absolutely do not "expect my government to support me" just becuase I chose to go to college, however, I DID expect the government to help me when I was struggling to provide for me and my baby on an income that was next to nothing. Never once did I say that I DESERVED aid bc I was a student and didnt have time to work (up until a month ago i have ALWAYS worked and supported myself thank you). I do not work right now and I have not applied or am receiving any aid. When I DID work and was pregnant was when I NEEDED the aid, in fact, school had nothing to do with it. Even if I wasnt a full time student I probably would have been working the same job making not too much more than I was already making! The point is, school or not I needed the help and I should have qualified, if i hadnt been a student I would have...never once did i say I DESERVED anything...honestly if it were just me I wouldnt have cared but it wasnt just me I had to think about! I had to think about what was best for my child, ie getting the right nutrition, getting to the dr and getting vitamins and such...but i guess as a "grown up" I should have been more responsible and not accidentily gotten pregnant.

abmsam · Jun 8, 2005

ELKMNin06......

I'm sorry if you thought my post was directed at you. It certainly wasn't. I understand that everyone's situation is unique, and I would never judge your decisions or work ethic. Please know that my post was not to you. I was simply responding to all of the posts about this topic. I realize that I have strong opinions, and I apologize if it offended you, as that was absolutely not my intention.

(BTW... cute puppy. I have one of those myself. Beagle, yeah???)

marylyric · Jun 8, 2005

I raised a child (that I did not give birth to), worked and went to Nursing school.
I received no loans or grants/government financial aid nor food stamps. I also had no medical insurance for myself. I also resided with but also cared for a mother that had breast cancer and lost both breasts. I have no spouse to help.
I am not rich and very few nursing students are "rich' yet the waiting lists are full. We are not running low on prospective nurses due to lack of applicants to nursing school.
If you want to make a better life for yourself and those that you care for, you will find a way to do so. It may mean waiting 4-10 years until things are more stable. It may mean sacrifices that you are not very happy to make. But being married/having kids/being native born/being a well meaning nursing student does not entitle you to food stamps/loans/grants/financial support. And plenty of "non rich" people make it through nursing school without the extra support.

I totally agree. I am in a martial relationship that is awful, My mother has been dx with congestive heartfailure, I had my daughter end up very sick and was adimitted to a mental instituition out of town while she was in college. I worked and paid for housing for my mother and daughter. I quit work because school was so intense. I lived of loans, grants, borrowing, pawning, I even pawned my sons playstation several times and pawned my car title. I begged my husband ( who is a drug addicted) for spare change while he had a bad attitude and I was called everything but a child of god. But I stuck it out and finished nursing school by the grace of god.( graduate may 8, 2005!!!!!!!!) I have been offered a job with a salary with differentials averaging 30.00 / hr. working 3 12 hour shifts a week. I am now praying to pass nclex exam with classes and a studying and to learn my job well. I am a testimony that where there is a will there is a way. Dont give up, do everything legal you have to get through the nursing program.

lna2rn · Jun 8, 2005

Perserverance and hard work.... it is the ONLY way. Claw your way to the top!

nursingismydream · Jun 8, 2005

I agree. I have never once said that I deserved assistance. In fact, since I started school three years ago, I have overcome many obstacles. The first year, I broke my elbow. Long sessions in physical therapy and in the doctors office trying to gain my mobility back. Through all that, I never missed a class and very little work. Then that summer, my husband was burned at work by 450 degree melted plastic. Had to have reconstructive surgery to his arm. Never missed a class or work. Someone had to, he was to busy keeping the nurses in the burn unit busy. Last summer, I was put in the hospital for a collapsed lung. Still didn't miss a class or work. Had to have my sister drive me to take a test I was so doped up. Never once through all this did I ask for anything. I said that if I had to quit school to help pay bills that is what I would do. I don't expect my government to support me while I go to school either. But it is very hard to support a system that seems to reward those who don't want to better their lives. ( I too have been paying taxes since I was 15.) As for living in a country that is the way ours is. I am grateful everyday for everything the Lord has blessed me with. I have been on mission trips to other countries and seen first hand what those people go through. One of the reasons why I wanted to be a nurse was to go back on a mission trip as a nurse. Someone said that my dh would probably have educational dreams. Well, he does. And I plan to support him the same way he has provided and supported me through all this. He wants to be a paramedic. And I am going to be the last person to discourage it. Oh yes, Ramen Noodles...my kids know them well. We live life simple. No cable, no take out, and no extras. I work fulltime and go to school fulltime, so if school has to take a backseat, then so be it. And in July when my husband loses his job of 11 years because of plant shutdown...the last place I and my three kids will probably be is asking for the help that I don't deserve.

Sheri257 · Jun 8, 2005

in my situation, the lady told me i would have to be pregnant, so....that means if i get pregnant or have kids already i would not be "required" to work, but because i am trying to further my education and not have kids out of wedlock i don't qualify??? that is bass-akwards:stone when i did have a 40-hr a week job that i hated i was helping the government to support others and there was not a problem. but now that i want some of that money back, i have to work more or have a kid to get help....huh??? no sense to me

yep ... that's true. at my school there are tons of unwed mothers who live with their boyfriends who make good money ... but intentionally don't get married so they can qualify for financial aid, welfare and all kinds of freebies. they're not poor ... believe me.

so yes, it's true. if you have a kid, and simply don't get married ... you can get thousands in financial aid, welfare, etc. it's unbelieveable.

:coollook:

RNdec2005 · Jun 8, 2005

I agree that unmarried women with children need help, but I am tired of the discrimination that exists between married vs. unmarried which is very similar to the "both parents working/not getting to spend as much time with kids as they like/barely missing the qualifications for medicaid" vs. the "parents who decide to spend more time with their kids/drop to one income/qualify for social problems." Who is right? Depends on your own opinion. All I know is that what is good for one should be good for all. Being married should not make an individual less likely to get aid just like barely missing the cut-off for social programs should not create the idea that the family is not struggling.

It seems to me that this country is increasingly rewarding the life-style of "no initiative" and making it harder for the middle-class who are not rich, work hard to improve themselves and their communities, and who pay more than their fair share of taxes.

I am getting tired of the idea that if you are white/middle-class/college educated/married/childless (either singularly or a combination of these) that your life is a cake-walk. In reality, your education (and the education of others), bills (and the bills of others), and your availability to obtain grants/scholarships are totally up to you and you get no "slack" for your good decisions. Rather, people will tell you "it is so hard to be a single mother" (true, it is very hard, but your decision) or you are lucky to be married (why, to pay higher taxes & miss out on grants for nursing school?).

Sorry if this letter seems cynical or offended anyone, but I just got done paying bills, studying, and I am preparing for a 12 hour day that will begin tomorrow at 5. Just my two-cents: take it or leave it :chuckle

RNdec2005 · Jun 8, 2005

This is not related to my former post, but does anyone know of an online BLS/CPR recertification?

Thanks!

new_mom26 · Jun 8, 2005

When I was pregnant with my daughter I was fired from my job and lost my benefits I had to apply for medicaid. (I'm also married) my husband lost his job a couple of months earlier b/c his company was shut down. I didn't want to ask for help but, at the time I didn't really have a choice b/c I was pregnant. My husband made the choice to go to truck driving school and went and got his CDL's and went over the road and was gone almost the entire time I was pregnant. As soon as he was eligible for benefits he put me on his insurance and our daughter. He did everything he could so, that he could better our lives. We didn't want to ask for assistance but we did everything we could to change it so that we wouldn't have to be in that position again. Not all people are taking advantage of the system sometimes, you have things happen and you don't have a choice but to ask for help. He now has a local job with great benefits. He works 6 days a week so that I can stay home with our daughter and we have cut out the extras. I am getting ready to go to college in the fall. We can only afford for me to go part time but, thats better than me not going at all. I don't really care if it takes me 6 years to get my a.s.n. but, we will not live beyond our means for me to go to college.