Charitiable Organizations - What do you think...?

I agree with this somewhat. Many states regulate the time period that welfare recipients can receive food stamps and/or to continue receiving them after a period of time, an adult in the home must be working or receiving some other form of income. To get cash assistance, most states now require that all able bodied adults in the home work a combined/divided total of 40 hours per week at an assigned site to "earn" those funds... often times when you do the math at the level of that states minimum wage, the person is "working for $4-$5/hour". Where I live now, a family of three can live modestly (with or without a motor vehicle) and do alright for themselves with little or no help). However, the town I moved from, $9/hour for a family of three, gets you a shot up spot in the hood ($400-$500 rent with about $400/mo utilities) and you can't get around safely.. at night while depending/waiting on public transportation. It just angers me when those who refuse to help themselves or refuse to try wholeheartedly want and expect everything to be given to them for free.

Aye, where I live 78% of families with children enrolled in school live below the federal poverty level. It's a town of about 6,200 people. The schools here don't chip in for class room supplies generally speaking - Instead they insist that the parents did it, as well as teaching supplies. This year my daughter's third grade class required from each student(things beyond the norm): 4 Bottles of Elmer's Glue (no glue sticks) 1 pair 8inch scissors (most 8 years can't even maneuver those) 3 pk pencils 3 boxes crayons 1 pk dry erase markers No mechanical pencils, no folders with clips, no binders, no trapper keepers. I purchased many of her school supplies before the school year started and still have items left over from last year. However, I fail to see what students are going to be doing to use 3 boxes of crayons, dry erase markers for boards theyre not allowed to write on, scissors the size that came with my sewing kit, and who cares about the pencils - cheap ones break all the time too (if it's not "testing time"). Since I'm now unemployed and had spent my budget, I ended up standing in this exact line because the teachers don't approve of what kind of pencils and what brand markers and paint I bought her. Ridiculous really, and I am beyond thankful that there were places doing these giveaways. Last year I spent plenty on school supplies and sent my daughter to school with extras for the "entire class" - when the one's my daughter had in her desk broke, she ended up having to ask the teacher for new crayons and pencils and getting marked down when she didnt have any. After sending 4pk pencils and 4pk crayons to school, it's really frustrating and well just wrong that my daughter got her grades marked down when her pencils and crayons were broken and stolen ; when my daughter wasn't allowed to keep any of the spare things that I sent to school with her at the beginning of the year. There was also a three week period when my daughter was absent due to illness, and returned to find that all of her pencils and erasers had been stolen. This year, regardless of the requirements, I'm sending her to school with the minimum, and when she tells me that she needs more I'll send more with her. Yes.. somewhat hypocritical, but I can't afford to supply the entire classroom this year. Catch 22 maybe :/

I might have gotten off the subject a little bit when I started talking about the sick and shut-ins. Sorry about that. I know we're mainly talking about people who are able to work and won't or the underemployed/unemployed and disabled. I guess these things just came to mind as I was responding. Kathy.