More on welfare. I'm Canadian (as everyone probably knows as I clarify it way too often), but I took social work and we also talked about the US, and I have a general familiarity. Even if the Canada stuff doesn't help (we're generally a lot more left wing than the US, even with Harper), it might give some perspective for curious Europeans. I may be slightly out of date, and this is based on experience, friends' experiences, and classes.
Most cities have food banks or soup kitchens, so at least that's sorted probably.
Here, welfare (government granted money to survive on when jobless and not receiving EI) is $660ish, dependent on the fact that you're looking for a job while receiving it. In Victoria, BC (capital but not as large/spensive as Vancouver), a one bedroom apartment is $600-$700, although you could share a 2 bedroom for $900-1200ish, meaning only $450-600, or get a room in a house for about $450-$550. So that's a problem. If you get a job as well as welfare, but are making below $660, they pay the difference (eg making $400 per month, they give you $260), so until you somehow get a better job, you are basically fucked. I don't know the American cash numbers, but I am relatively certain that they're similarly proportioned.
If she could register as having a disability (depression most likely), she could probably get a little more cash help, although like with welfare, it subtracts the difference- so if you were eligible for $800 disability and for welfare, you'd still just get $800. It's dumb. That's why we have so many homeless disabled people (also, cities hate putting money into mental health and homeless shelters). This is also why some people try to have jobs under the table while on welfare/disability- it's not that they want to scam those tax payers out of money, it's that you cannot (or can barely) survive on government assistance, and for any amount you can leg yourself up, you lose over again (before someone links me a news article about someone scamming- some people do try to exploit stuff. however, they are the vast minority, and they ruin it for people who need it. people on welfare don't like it any more than right wing extremists do). Lots of people receiving welfare are homeless (and lots of people with jobs, or with both, are homeless).
EI runs out, and while she's collecting it she'd only be able to get the difference in welfare, if any, as with if she had other income (eg, a job). However, lots of people receive welfare for only a couple months (it's just a stereotype that welfare is for people who want nothing other than to live on it forever. an awful stereotype), so she'd probably be able to get it. Plus, as no one has seemed to point out, Marten mentioned when they moved that the rent isn't much higher than his old place- even if Faye was only paying a third while she got back on her feet, or even none, he could probably carry it. Other than with/following impulse purchases, he hasn't had much financial difficulty- if he was willing, I don't think Faye would have much of a problem.
Of course, hospital bills are ridiculous in the US, and she'll probably be there a while, especially if she's on a psych hold. That may nullify whatever she gets, whether it's via a job that she makes a decent wage at OR bare minimum welfare. Good thing that, as I mentioned, Marten could probably carry her a little.
Question for actual Americans- Not including insurance, how does involuntary treatment payment work? Like, if someone doesn't want to go to the hospital (such as if they're suicidal) and are held 'for their own safety.' Do they still have to pay a fee for their bed? What about severe physical injuries where someone doesn't even know they were at the hospital, but isn't comatose or anything where it goes to their next of kin (eg a couple days under following a car accident).
On the other hand, Dora may not have put through Faye's severence yet, paperwork-wise. If it doesn't hurt her insurance premiums too much, I could see her allowing Faye to use her old health insurance to cover her time at the hospital/rehab, since that's why she got fired. It's not great for her, but she did want Faye to get help, and has for a while. Also, as mentioned, Faye may have insurance for the rest of the month.
NB- if Faye is only treated for today, I don't think she should do this. I don't think she should give Faye benefits when she was fired for a legitimate reason. If Faye had broken her leg or even suddenly been diagnosed with cancer, I wouldn't say 'Dora should help!' 'Rewarding' her by giving her benefits but no work would be dumb, even if the lack of pay hurt.
However, if Faye is legitimately receiving help, verifiably... well, I think half of why Dora fired her is that she (reasonably) didn't expect Faye to be honest/sober/respectful next time, or reliably in the future. If Faye ends up in inpatient rehab for a few weeks or a month, with continued therapy after, that might counteract Dora's fear. Although it doesn't seem Dora will want to re hire her now, we haven't seen her side of the aftermath. If Faye successfully completes rehab and is good in therapy, especially with a doctor's note, I could see Dora granting a probationary job.
Again, not saying it's likely, or even the best thing for Dora to do, but it's a possibility.
Marten offers to stay by her bedside and asks a question that makes it clear that he understands her recovery is contingent on more than the mere physical recovery from this one incident.
Commenters decide that he isn't her friend and has no idea what alcoholism is.
I don't understand this place sometimes.
If Marten understood 1. that Faye is an alcoholic and 2. what alcoholism is, he wouldn't be pestering medical staff to answer if Faye would be OK. He'd know that they have no control over it, and that recovery necessarily has to start with Faye herself.
Put another way, Marten obviously thinks Faye's issues are all or mostly medical. They aren't. As he's going to find out in the coming days.
Pretty sure he's asking for reassurance, not actually that confused. If anything, it seems like he knows they're not medical, for the reasons Tova said (he acknowledged physical recover did not mean 'okay'), although he may be fuzzy on how treating mental illness works.
For whatever reason, I can't stop dwelling on how that IV reduces Faye to being one handed.
Restraints seem a far more humane option than crippling someone's hand. There's a bazillion other veins available.
I'm confused. You said your hand was out of use until they removed the IV. If someone was restrained, wouldn't
both their hands be out of use/'crippled' until they were removed? How is that more humane? Wouldn't it be doubly bad?
(plus the stuff about dislocating your arms or not being able to roll on your side if you're choking or whatever)
Also, Faye probably would need the IV either way, for fluids and probably medicine. So, having it there to add a benzo or something to wouldn't really be any difference in how much she was already restrained by the IV (physically- obviously she'd probably be pretty asleep once it was added). (Edit: and also, they probably would have an IV in her even without the fluids and stuff, just the needle in. That way, if she crashed, they wouldn't have to deal with finding a vein or wasting precious seconds). Also also, more to do with the last paragraph above this, restraints are terrifying, she's drunk, and last time she described suffering psychosis, which may be expected this time (medically, I doubt they've asked). Terrifying+Confused(and maybe also terrifying) generally is bad.
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Topic: WCDT: 2882-2886 (26-30 January 2015) (Read 140146 times)