Another open letter to the DHS.............

Dear Powers that Be,

First and foremost, I am a single father with two growing boys. Have been for 14 years now.
Recently, in your infinite wisdom, you decided that I was to be forced back onto a health policy that I could not afford, even after providing you with the numbers. Fortunately, my Human Resources person was able to reaffirm my position (even after you rudely chided him for allowing me to drop said policy). But, I didn't get off that easily. I still had to provide/pay for a policy for my 17 year old son, even though he had been on Medicaid for nearly 3 years. Fine. Whatever.

Onto the subject at hand:Food Assistance.

After the prompting of a friend, I decided to "break down" and apply for help feeding my children.
Now, let me just say that I don't live outside of my means...........at least on purpose. By that I mean, sometimes I have no choice but to play "race the check" when paying for utilities, car payment, or something my boys would need, like clothes.
I don't have cable, I'm on a friends phone plan at a HUGE saving, and I'm on the lowest tier of internet only so I can enjoy NetFlix and my boys have something to do when things get slow here.

When I first signed up for the food assistance program, or EBT as you like to refer to it (it does sound better than FAP),I was granted $235/month. This allowed me to keep up on my normal bills while providing meals for my kids. Cool.

Then, my oldest boy turned 18 which in your mind meant that he was able to help provide food for my house, (something that he wasn't required by his mother to do at her house). Seriously? An 18 year old college boy working part time was to put aside his gas money so he could eat at his father's house? This dropped my amount to $60/month.
Brilliant.

Fast forward 11 months. I still have a child under 18, and now my amount has been adjusted to a mere $15/week? That doesn't even equate to a real weekly number! It comes out to $3.461538461538462 .........at this point I must call "bovine feces"......

Why even dole out this paltry amount? I have a friend with a family of five.........FIVE and his amount is $12/week?!

I don't know what system of numbers you are using, but there is a flaw somewhere. Or maybe it's in your attitude.
I can't help but think that if I was a single mother with a revolving uterus I'd be living high on the hog, eating like a queen!
But since I'm a single guy just trying to get by while providing for my kids, and not a single mom living off assistance, I get to enjoy an aerial intercourse by "the system".

So keep your three bucks a week, and I'll just have to go back to macaroni and melted orange crayons.........and the boys will just have to like it...........

But in closing, I'd just like to say, intercourse you, intercourse you, and of course, intercourse you.

Sincerely,
Yet another male statistic

an open letter to the IA DHS........

Dear women............

I say women, because after suffering what I have there's no way any men work there.
If they did, I, as a fellow member of the male race, wouldn't be allowed to experience the travesties put upon me.

You claim to have the "best interest of children", when in fact you don't really give a damn because if you did, single fathers like myself would be allowed to assist in the raising of our children as well as provide for them as we see fit.
But instead, you take the mothers side and gouge us for every penny we have all in the name of "what's best for the child".

So tell me, oh great and powerful ones, why is it that your "sisters" are granted the power to do as they will, which often times will be to use our court ordered amounts to pay for exotic trips, high end clothes and jewelry, and all the primping and pampering they wish? NOT, for the children of course, but for themselves all the while providing our children with the bare minimum including step siblings hand-me-downs.

I submit to you, that the letters D. H. and S. do NOT stand for the Department of Human Services, but rather the De-Humanizing of Sons.

I am about to be thrust into a monetary situation that could very well jeopardize my ability to maintain a home situation for my children, a home they have enjoyed since they were born.

When I told you that the insurance being provided through my employer was going to increase outrageously, I meant it.

Since my young son was still covered under a state provided policy, one that not only did you switch him to, but my low income qualified him for, I was able to obtain a policy for my other son and self at half what it would cost through my employer.

However, for what ever reason, you have deemed that that is not good enough and are forcing me back onto my employer's insurance policy, one which I told you i could not afford. But that doesn't matter now does it.
It doesn't matter that paying child support along with this obscenely high health insurance, will leave me about $60 weekly to attempt to live on, and provide food for my children when they are allowed to visit.

And here's the rub:my younger son turns 18 in 11 months, and graduates in 18 months. Even though my court decree says that support shall end (to my ex....i won't stop supporting them. i'll just know where my money goes), when he turns 18 OR graduates.....you've already told me you'll be going by turning 18 AND graduating high school.

Now, why is it, mothers can do all sorts of heinous things like, running off, but then coming back years later, or, leaving an infant child in a locked car during the coldest day of the year while hanging out in a bar, or even doing heroin while their child sleeps in the next room......all of this and yet they are STILL allowed to keep their children, not work and live off government programs sucking the American public dry, but when a single father tries to provide for his children AND keep a roof over their head and food on the table he gets punished........

I don't live a posh existence.
I don't hang out in bars, or go shopping for personal trinkets, or even buy myself clothes more than once a year.

All I try to do is keep a roof over our head, food on our table, and provide whatever they need.

All you do, DHS, is create turmoil where there should be none.

You obviously have no clue what is best for our children..........