Unemployment System Recovery?

 

9/29/20

Under the mantel of Covid-19 we all carry our own weight and that of others. I filed for unemployment benefits in the middle of February. That was after attending a telephone town hall with AOC and others when they described who was eligible and how to apply.

One morning that month, I dialed the number and answered all the questions on the telephone response system. It took some time. At the end there was the automated voice that said you have now completed your unemployment application which was followed by an immediate click. No explanation, no further instructions. That began the seven-month saga and trauma of being in a system that was completely broken under the weight of reality.

I lay on my bed it seems the sirens never stop. In my sleep I hear them. Across the street is a community health center that also contains a long-term care nursing facility. Sometimes there are as many as four or five ambulances coming and going. It is right across a one lane street so there is no escape. I was diagnosed with PTSD after 9-11. Now the Pandemic was all around me. The sirens were non-stop through virus laden air. I started studying this disease even before it was known by most. I want to know how things work not all things, but I have preferences. One of mine is public health and well-being. I had been following international news cycles from other countries especially China. There was the threat of illness washing through the reports of an unknown disease that is new to humans.

10/3

What I know is that our social systems of support are broken. This is not news. Through our years of prosperity, we have neglected basic systems that are created by civilized societies to protect its population. That is not news either.

In seven- and one-half months, I got through on the telephone line to the Department of Labor only four times. There were two times that they called me. There were no letters to tell me what I should do.  After that first call, I tried a number of times to get through, it was futile and I also realized that this kind of process was going to be detrimental to my health if I followed their instructions. But there was no other way. It had to be the phone line. I keep in mind that the telephone was the first technology used to harass people.

The first call I got from them went something like this. It was about 4 to 6 weeks after my initial filing for benefits.  At this juncture excuse me as I have to take a break to find some music to listen to. That has been a saving grace. I went looking for music and found D. Trump’s, four-minute video from the hospital. That was not what I wanted to hear. And neither was the first phone call I received from the Department of Labor. Phone calls are problematic with robo and spam calls which I usually do not answer. I got into the habit of just picking up any call to answer hoping for help. One morning when I answered there was a man who identified himself as calling from the DOL. Wow, I thought, and he asked me questions where had I worked, and things related to my case. He did not sound very official or professional, but I thought what the heck they are outsourcing to get more people to help. The call felt uncomfortable but what really was disturbing was that at the end of the call he said “well good luck” in a sarcastic way. Really? Am I playing the lottery here? Or am I applying for benefits that I am legally entitled to? I could hear a dog barking in the background. Yes, someone definitely working from home. But who was that person? A mirage, who did I just talk to? I am sure I asked him his name, but as the months rolled by my suspicions were confirmed. In the meantime, it felt like when I played tennis as a kid. Your opponent serves one to you and the ball grazes the top of the net then dips over the edge clinging to it as it slides to the ground. No matter how fast I was and skidding along the clay court raked skid marks with my sneakers as I dove, the ball was just there doing nothing, and I am covered in ochre clay dust. Everyone knows that feeling. The one that echoes in your head, it is the sound of what just happened here, and it is a bit of a heart drop.