Have a Heart (A Story of Social Justice)

Imagine, if you will, a young couple with stars in their eyes. They’re so in love they can't hardly stand it. Then one day, the girl discovers she is pregnant. She, having mixed emotions about the pregnancy and can’t decide whether to be happy because she’s excited to be a mother, or be scared because she isn’t in a family who would approve of such circumstances. The guy also cannot decide, for he too is excited for his growing family, but is acutely aware of the precious few dollars he has to his name. 

The family and friends surrounding this couple say to them that they were altogether hasty in their relationship, that marriage is not a good idea, and the child is the product of the sin of fornication. The couple was told by the pastors in their church that unless they split up, they cannot be a part of the church because their relationship is not Godly. The couple decides to elope, and the very next day, the young girl's enraged father cancels her from his health insurance plan. The couple has nothing. The girl is a few months pregnant and in need of her first obstetrics check-up. The guy works for two dollars an hour above minimum wage, and the girl fears that her growing belly might now be noticeable to any potential employers. They live in a shabby, run-down, one-bedroom apartment.

At the advice of a friend, the couple knocks on the door of a local Department of Social Services (DSS) branch. She needs to begin thinking of medical care for her and her baby. The social worker, without hesitation, signs them up on state medical insurance (Medicaid), and then asks them how they plan to eat. The couple, not realizing what the social worker meant looked at one another and shrugged. “Buy food, I guess,” the young girl said. The social worker then told them about government issued EBT cards (formally food stamps) and approved the couple for those benefits as well. 

Over the next few months, they young man acquired a construction job with only slightly better pay and with no benefits. The girl managed to find a minimum-wage job at a café with meager tips, yet the manager was gracious. The couple still had very little money to their name, but they were taken care of by the the welfare system that would take care of them -- instead of the church that wouldn’t. 

Years passed. The couple stayed together through it all and delighted in their child. Both the young man and young woman attended the university with the help of welfare to aid in expenses. The young woman  had dealt with nasty looks form the checker when she paid for groceries with her EBT card. Her child had a black eye, but what the clerk didn’t know was that her child had just begun walking and had tottered into the corner of the coffee table. 

The young man, who graduated first, couldn’t find employment in his field that made much more than he did before he attended college. At just $1,800 per month in income, the couple was $100 over budget for EBT benefits; however, the young man loved his new job, and though he now had the option of health insurance for his family through his employer, he could not afford the premiums which were $480 per month, so he and his wife lived without healthcare while they depended on Medicaid for their child’s healthcare, which ranged from childhood illnesses, immunizations, and to well-child check-ups.

The man went on for his master’s degree, still depending on Medicaid for his child’s medical care. He once got the stomach flu so badly that he had to be hospitalized. Two hours, a basic medical exam, one x-ray, one prescription, and a bag of IV fluids later, he was released, costing him all $2,500 of his family’s federal tax return (which included Earned Income Credit). When fuel prices sky-rocketed, he rode his bike to work and school and applied for heating assistance through DSS. The young woman, after years of part-time schooling because she also was a stay-at-home parent, also graduated with a degree and began working. And after 7 years, the couple finally earned enough money to support their family without the help of welfare.

What you don’t know about this couple is that both sets of their parents and multiple aunts and uncles and cousins had also taken advantage of welfare programs when their families were young and times were tough. None of those members are currently enrolled welfare benefits, and haven't been for years.

Knowing what you know now about this couple’s story, what would you say about:

1. The church and other religious organizations being the entities that facilitate taking care of the poor?

2. The idea that the poor are poor because they choose to be poor?

3. The dire need for some kind of healthcare reform?

4. The idea that everyone should have access to affordable healthcare?

5. Mandatory drug testing for all applicants and recipients of welfare programs?

6. The opinions that you yourself have unwittingly formed about certain social demographics?

7. More tax breaks and benefits for the poor, particularly concerning earned income credit (EIC)?

8. The catch-22 each woman is put in when evaluating her options (damned if she has a "welfare baby", damned if she doesn't)?

9.The idea that welfare programs keep people dependent on welfare programs?