Ted LeBlond never thought that at 38, after spending more than a decade working at some of the nation’s top universities, he’d end up depending on Welfare and food stamps to live.
But ever since his unemployment compensation ran out two months ago, he has had to learn to do just that. He also has learned that applying for assistance is complex, especially since he barely has pocket money for transportation to interviews.
“We all see people at the PATH begging and think, ‘That can’t be us.’ Look how quickly it can, and for so little reason,” said LeBlond, who lives in a $1,045-per-month apartment in Jersey City and is HIV positive.
LeBlond, like many other residents of Hudson County, has recently had to learn how to live on $155 in food stamps and $140 in general assistance per month.
According to Marcela Ospina, the spokesperson for the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, 38,200 initial unemployment claims were filed by Hudson County residents in 2006.
That number only includes claims filed against companies located or operating in New Jersey, Ospina said. It does not include the many people in the area like LeBlond, who commuted to New York City for work.
From $45K per year to soup kitchen
After losing his job in February of 2007, LeBlond received unemployment assistance in the form of $900 a month from New York State for about six months. When that ran out in mid-August, he was told by the Hudson County Welfare division that he had to wait until September to get a $140 N.J. state welfare check because his unemployment had covered the first two weeks of August.
So for two weeks, LeBlond, who had earned about $45,000 a year as residency coordinator for NYU’s Medical School, went to a soup kitchen to eat.
LeBlond has been looking for a job for some time. But he said that the process is difficult when money is limited.
“I had four interviews at Cornell [University Medical College in upper Manhattan] two weeks ago,” LeBlond said. “I had to go three times and pay $7 round trip every time. That’s $21 right there, out of $140.”
When he was working, it was an expense that he didn’t have to worry about. But now, LeBlond has to think about every penny.
“I would go out to the movies, go out for a beer. I’d be walking home from work on a hot afternoon and see the ice cream truck and get an ice cream,” he said. “Now I don’t have the $2.”
From Georgetown to general assistance
At NYU, LeBlond did everything from planning residents’ orientation and rotation schedules, to assisting the director and monitoring the budget.
He admitted that he got off to a rocky start at the job back in January of 2006, after having just made the move from Washington D.C. to New York, but said that by his six-month evaluation, things were fine. He had no inkling that his job was in trouble.
“On Jan. 8 (2007) after a faculty meeting, the director called me into his office. He was a very polished guy, one of those who knew when to make a joke. He was shifting in his chair, and it made me nervous,” LeBlond said. The man gave LeBlond 30 days notice and said, “It’s just not working out.”
The Rhode Island College graduate, who had previously worked at Georgetown and George Washington Universities in D.C., soon found that it was less time than he would need.
“In this economy, [a month’s notice to find a new job] is not much,” LeBlond said.
He has had more than half a dozen job interviews, and none have panned out. But he still considers himself lucky. He has a college education, he speaks English, and he has a computer.
“I’m very resourceful and good at web searches, thank God,” he said. “Lots of times if I think ‘I need this,’ I’ll go looking for that specific thing. Some people may have difficulty making those connections.”
Searching for other types of assistance
It was through this resourcefulness that LeBlond found additional assistance from social service agencies, particularly because he suffers from the HIV virus. The federal department of Housing and Urban Development’s HOPWA (Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS) program gave him a grant for 70 percent of his September rent. Hudson Pride assisted him with the rest of September’s rent, and Faith Services, a local nonprofit organization based in Hoboken, helped him with his PSE&G bill.
The assistance has given him some “breathing room” for the month of September, LeBlond said. But much of the help was in the form of one-time payments, and now he is unsure how he will pay October’s bills. And though he is getting assistance, it is not everything he needs.
“With HIV, one of my symptoms is that I lose weight very easily,” he said. “Ideally I should be eating three to five good meals a day. Now I’m eating two to three.”
LeBlond said he is going on an average of two job interviews per week. He has also applied for more menial jobs, but he says he has been turned down because he is overqualified.
“I’ve also gone to temp agencies, which provided to be fruitless,” he said. “They don’t seem to understand that I’d answer phones for $5 an hour. They keep saying that they don’t have anything for my skill set.”
Social service agencies frustrating
LeBlond has noticed that navigating various social service agencies has been frustrating, and he has contacted several media outlets to show how hard it is to get help.
He said there is a lack of coordination of services, forcing those in need to “have to go to 10 different places for 10 different things.”
He said this is especially hard when public transportation costs money.
He also cited the fact that government assistance has not been adjusted to rising costs of living over the years. “When the woman took my application at the food stamps office, she said, ‘You’re going to get $140 in cash, and that amount hasn’t been upped since the mid ’80s.’ ”
LeBlond said he has met many people in the past few months that are in similar situations, including his best friend, Michael, who was recently evicted from his apartment because he could not secure the economic assistance needed to help pay his rent.
“I keep hearing more and more variations on the theme,” he said. He gave advice to people who may encounter similar frustrations: “Don’t take no for an answer.”
LeBlond said, “Be persistent. Be resourceful. Don’t hesitate to go to your elected officials; they’re there to help you.” He noted that he got information for the HOPWA funding from a staffer in Sen. Robert Menendez’s district office.
LeBlond said that the few times he has run out of money, his friends have been there to help.
“A friend took me shopping,” he said. “Thank God for friends.”
He also said that the company of his dog, Max, has helped him get through the days when he became almost overwhelmingly depressed by the situation.
He said he has an interview lined up for this week.
“After this long – eight months – it’s gotten so old,” he said. “I just want my own paycheck.”
Comments on this article can be sent to mfriedman@hudsonreporter.com