Educational Assistance for the Unemployed

I am very pleased to announce that I am eligible for professional training certification courses at a local university courtesy of the Suffolk County Department of Labor. It turns out that many Counties in New York are offering educational training initiatives where they partner with local colleges and universities to provide free or reduced cost professional training to unemployed New Yorkers. I am thrilled to be a recipient of these funds allowing me to gain additional training in my field which will significantly improve my job prospects.

I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised to see the shear mass of available services for those who are unemployed in New York. The amount of job search resources is incredible. You don't need to guess and you certainly don't have to worry if you have no clue about what to do to find a job. It is all there, everything you need to know and then some. In addition there is a wide range of online training courses available in many disciplines including courses in every computer software imaginable.

Of course the availability of all this assistance does not diminish the fact that you are you unemployed and bringing in a fraction of what you used to earn. It also does not diminish the fact that I now fall into the category of being on the receiving end of government funds. We are all jaded when it comes to government handouts and the taxes required to fund them, until we actually need them for ourselves. We mercilessly pass judgment on those we believe are undeserving.

Should I be happy now that I will finally reap some of those benefits after so many years of being a productive member of society who has paid her fair share of taxes? Calamity does allow me to take advantage of programs where I would not normally be eligible for financial aid. Nevertheless I think it is fantastic because I need to improve my chances of being hired. It is unfortunate that these services are only available to those who are receiving unemployment assistance so those who are underemployed or those who do not qualify for benefits are left out.

Who am I when I accept services that I should have been able to pay for months ago? We all measure our self worth by the amount we are able to contribute to society; we scoff at those who become a burden on society. Nevertheless as more of us find ourselves joining the lines of the needy, we have no visual since much of the paperwork is done online or by telephone or other remote correspondence. During the Great Depression, people had to physically show up and stand on line, it made the situation appear even more dire but lest you be mistaken, things are even more dire now.