I've been resisting asking about this for some time, afraid of the response i might get, being a 23 year old asking about welfare. But i've seen some people talk positively about getting help thru welfare programs and so i thought i might ask for some advice and a point in the right direction.
Like i said, i'm 23, living in California, I've just gotten my Psychology BA and I've been wanting to move out of my parents place for some time (i secretly fear becoming a 30 year old dude who lives with his parents). At the moment i work three very part-time jobs, all of which pay substantially more than the current minimum wage, yet either have few hours per week or have an erratic schedule which sometimes wont work me at all. I was wondering if there is any program that could ensure that i could pay rent on a regular basis so i could move into a small place with some close friends. My family tells me they'd be happy to have me as long as i'd like, but moving out is something that's very important to me, as I feel like lessening the cost for my dad would help relieve a lot of stress for he and my mom, plus I just feel that having me own place would be the next step in becoming one of these strange Adult creatures.
[I am not a lawyer, etc, etc]
It really depends on your state's setup. As you're young (and I presume no kids), you won't qualify for some of the programs, but there's probably some that you do qualify for.
Here in Oregon, for example, you can draw Unemployment when your hours-worked-per-week hit less than 32. The amount received is based on the hours you worked in the last 6 months, and those must be over 500 hrs or something like that.
Try to find a local resource center, and you may get better help face-to-face. Best of luck!
Quote from: Chelagoras The Boulder on February 22, 2014, 12:13:56 AM
I've been resisting asking about this for some time, afraid of the response i might get, being a 23 year old asking about welfare.
I think we call that BEING NEW TO THE WORKFORCE IN A REALLY REALLY SHITTY ECONOMY.
If you want to work and/or be productive, but there's a reason you can't (injury, NO FUCKING JOBS, etc), then there's no fucking shame in being on assistance.
THAT'S WHY IT'S THERE.
Yeah, seriously.
When I was 23, I was on welfare. Well, for part of that year, anyway. A good 9 months definitely. I was unemployed, and then when I was employed, I had too few hours to properly survive on. And you're probably aware I'm not exactly a slacker in the hard, shitty work department, or the "qualified and smart enough to do better" area either. People simply weren't hiring. Nothing I could do about it.
Sadly, I know nothing about how the services in the US work, so I'm no help there.
I don't know where to point you in terms of finding help getting that money, but I say fuck anyone who tries to give you some moralistic bullshit about being on welfare. Especially if they shop at Wal-Mart, or drive an American car, or bank with a large banking institution. I say more power to anyone who can manage to get some government largesse, whether they need it or not.
I don't know how it is now, but California was almost impossible to get benefits from when I lived there. That was a long time ago though.
At 23, with no full-time work history, and living with your parents, you are very unlikely to be eligible for any benefits because you will be considered a dependent of your parents, and until you move out I believe you will continue to be considered a dependent. My best advice: look for absolutely any full-time job you can find, related to your major or not, even if it doesn't pay well. Then rent a cheap room in a shared apartment. Once you have done these things for a period of time (which is I think 6 months), you will be considered independent, although still probably not eligible for benefits.