NEEDCOM: FOCUS GROUP: Welfare

NEEDCOM:

Some people don't give to panhandlers because they say it's the government's job to provide food, shelter, and medical asssistance to those who can't get it themselves.

YVETTE:

I think it is, and I don't think they do enough. I've been through the system and ... One thing, they give you a real hard time about it. I wound up doing a lot of that myself. When it came to the systemv... When it comes to New York State really offering help, the best you can get is welfare.

..........

PRIM:

It's hard to find a job, and when you're down and out, when you fall ... People just fall. One day they have everything, and the next day they have nothing—you can't just go find a job. You do this until you pick yourself up. Some people do, some people see how much money they make, and they just keep on doing it. This is like welfare to me. I don't abuse it, you know.

..........

ROBERT G:

In order for me to get a job, I have to have a place to live. And if I don't have a place to live, I have to get some type of assistance, even if it's only temporary. How am I gonna get a job if I have no place to live? And in order for me to have a place to live, I have to have some type of income. In order for me to have some type of income ...

I'm not talking about welfare for the rest of my life. I'm talking about temporary assistance so I can get a place and go LOOK for a job. I could be a computer genius right now, and if I went to any spot in NYC and asked for a job: "Where do you live?" [is] the first thing they're going to ask you. You could have all the credentials, you could have manuscripts from college, and all that. "Where do you live?"