February 26th, 2010
I was having a hard time finding a job a few months ago when I heard about the Employment & Training Program at West End Neighborhood House through a friend who was already in the program. I made an appointment and sat in on one of the classes. Right away, I knew it was the right place for me. I had no work experience, no resume, no cover letter, no interview skills and I didn’t know how to find or apply for jobs online. I’ve been in the Employment program for three and a half months now and I’ve gained a lot of confidence. Now I have an e-mail address and know how to send my resume out to different employers. Now I have confidence in job interviews and know how to assert myself, I feel like I’ve really enhanced my communication skills.
Thanks to this program, I’m starting a new job in two weeks loading and unloading trucks at a store in New Castle. It feels so good to have accomplished this; it’s a great feeling to be a productive member of society, be part of the workforce and be able to take care of my family.
I think there should be more stimulus-funded employment programs like the one at West End to help Americans who are struggling. In my class, I sit next to former bankers, paralegals and out-of-work lawyers. We’re struggling together because of how bad the economy is. The Employment program has been a great thing for me and I hope other people can get the same help I did.
Anthony
February 23rd, 2010
I am fortunate, I have health care but it isn’t what it used to be. I am proud to be a UAW member and a Chrysler retiree and am fortunate to have health insurance. However rising insurance costs and fees have caused me to make decisions I just didn’t have to make in the past. Two medications that I need are no longer covered by my plan and I don’t have the extra money it would cost to purchase them.
This is just a small sacrifice compared to the problems my son faces as a small businessman. I am proud of my son and his courage to be self-employed but it comes with a large price, the lack of health insurance. We have been fortunate that he has not had any significant health care costs. With the future of our economy built on entrepreneurs and small businesses how is it that these very leaders are forced to go without?
Lucy
February 22nd, 2010
I purchased my home on August 3, 2009. After contemplating a wide variety of variables including the $8,000 First Time Homebuyer Credit tax credit, I decided that it was an appropriate time for me to make such an investment and work towards my future. Without the tax credit as a very strong incentive to make such a purchase, I can say with certainty that I would not have bought a home. After my closing, I kept track of the items I bought for my home, including dishes, towels, paint, furniture and home decor. I purchased a majority of these items at local retailers. In total, I spent nearly $2000 on making my new home mine. I feel that this stimulus money certainly enticed me to jump into the housing market and generate revenue for locally-owned businesses.
Now that tax time is upon us, I am in the midst of filing for my tax refund, including my First Time Homebuyer credit. I look forward to putting that money back in the bank. In addition to purchasing a home, I’ve decided to return to school and seek my Master’s degree in Public Administration.
Without President Obama’s First Time Homebuyer Credit incentive program, I would not be a homeowner or a graduate school student today.
Lauren
February 19th, 2010
I learned the hard way how broken our health care system is. Let me just say that 2009 was not my best year for health care. From the end of March to the middle of April, I had the extreme pleasure of making three trips to the hospital resulting in 2 surgical procedures. A third surgery followed in mid Summer. Before this banner year, I had never thought much about my health insurance. I knew my medical and prescription coverage had been steadily decreasing over the past few years, but I had no idea how quickly it would go from insurance to something that was no better than a grocery store discount card. Every trip to the pharmacy resulted in a new, higher price for the same medications I had been taking for years.
The new prescriptions that I was given were covered, but were at a special, new, “4th Tier” price. In addition, my plan now had an annual cap of $500/ person, $1000/ family. This was a change from the year before that I did not know about because I just let my coverage continue from the previous year. The worst part about the new cap was that when my portion ran out I could not use my wife\’s relatively untouched portion. To make mine disappear all the quicker, the prescriptions were all charged at different rates. One medicine was applied to the cap at the co-payment rate, while another was applied at the full, uninsured price. Also, several of my prescriptions were bumped into the highest price point (remember that magical 4th Tier). This means, although it is covered, the price to me would be $700 for the first month, $500 for the next month and finally $475 after my insurance cap was reached. So much for having a prescription plan. It is only good for the first 3 months of the year. The prescriptions were only one part of it. In addition to paying more for the meds that my doctors gave me to make me well, I had to tell them that after all of their work in diagnosing and treating me, that I could not follow their directions because my insurance company did not cover those medications or treatments.
To add a nice little bit of topping to the garbage sundae that I was served, I received 3 bills from 3 different anesthesiologists saying that my health plan did not cover their services because they were out of network. Apparently, upon being wheeled into emergency surgery, you must be lucid enough to get every health care worker who is servicing you to tell you if they are one of your \”network providers\”. If not, well I guess you call for a reliever from the OR bullpen? I could go on, but I believe I made my point. I cannot believe that I am the only one who is having these issues. It is not as if I had some cut rate insurance plan either. This was my United Health care group plan at work. It is the same plan as the previous year, only with some new reverse perks. If this is the future of health care, this may be one of the last things you hear from me before the costs get so great I just quit my meds and hope exercise buys me some bonus time. We need a change; we need to catch up to the rest of the world.
Brian
February 6th, 2010
My name is Melissa. I am a registered nurse for hospice. Every day I have to worry that the company I work for will not be able to continue what we do because medicare doesn’t believe hospice patients are dying. I realize that medicare must be careful and make cut backs and be careful of the budget. However, when a doctor certifies a patient is elligible for hospice they are saying they have done all they can for someone. This is not something easily done, by any health care professional. I would imagine if a senator’s loved one was dying they would want a hospice nurse to care for their dying loved one. Sadly,the rich and the poor are unaffected. It’s the people in the middle who are at risk of losing their rights.
Melissa
