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Sappho
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That's actually very common Kat... even today. And the reason why, is that women, children and elders still come first where it is that material aid is limited and it's always limited.
At community engagement meetings, when all local Welfare groups come together (not Job Service Providers), they try and lobbey us for additional funding and less bureaucratic wrangling when tendering. And every time, we tell them that we are apolitical and cannot engage such converstations because we are apolitical, but support their right to lobbey government.
And I believe that this is where they fall in a heap... They have not mastered the art of lobbying government. At one of these annual meetings, I was not in a good frame of mind... so sick of their whining was I, when it happened that one of the representitives from the Brotherhood of St Lawence dared to say that lobbying government was useless. "Really!" says I. "Perhaps you should look to Capitalism and how it lobbies government, for Capitalists are very successful in their goals." It didn't go down well, but it did allow us to move on to the real business of these meetings which was and is to work more closely with Community Welfare Agencies for the benefit of our mutual customers.
In your case, the lack of assistance provided was just despicable, because whilst it was that they could not help you, they could have provided you with an internal referral to another agency who could, or provided you with a list of places you could go for free wholesome meals and given you a free ticket for public transport to get there. Heck... they could have suggested you try The Local Courts who still have a Poor Box for those in desperate need.
The Welfare Industry, whilst noble and good, are very poorly managed.
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