Welfare System

Re “Struggling at Bottom of Welfare System,� May 6:

While I welcome the exposure your article gave to the struggles of general relief recipients, I am concerned that it unintentionally plays into the popular misconception that general relief is “welfare� or “charity.� To the contrary, general relief is work-based program. If you lose your job, exhaust your savings, pensions and unemployment benefits, and cannot find a job, the county may be willing to loan you a maximum of $212 a month, provided you work it off at minimum wage.

To qualify for this loan, you must be willing to perform menial tasks that no one else wants to do (e.g. cleaning public toilets, picking up trash--the worst job I heard of was handling dead bodies at a crematorium).

To apply for this loan, you must wait many hours, fill out a lengthy application and be screened by a county worker trained to detect fraudulent applications.

Tragically, despite the public outcry to put people who receive government assistance to work, L.A. County continues to downsize rather than expand its general relief program.

PAUL L. FREESE JR.

Public Counsel

Homeless Assistance

Program for Youth & Adults

* Re “County Welfare Cuts Illegal, Judge Rules,� May 4:

Richard Rothschild of the Western Center on Law and Poverty claims that “the county took money from its very poorest residents, those least likely to vote, least likely to fight back. Now the county must pay the price.�

Let’s not forget so quickly where the money for these welfare payments comes from. The only people the county takes money from are its taxpayers. It is only guilty of giving less to the general relief recipients.

TOM KELLY

Lakewood