Question For DU All Members

[stewert]

You may or may not know me, I am Steve Senti, I own and run www.oreilly-sucks.com. I have since August of 2001. I am also a long time member of democaraticunderground.com. I joined right after it was put online in January of 2001.

I am 47 years old, and have not worked since 1995, due to a bad back from back surgery, and a few other medical problems. I live with my retired father who is 82 years old, and on a fixed income. I applied for social security disability and it was denied, then I got an attorney and we spent 3 years filing appeals, which were all denied.

This was quite a few years ago, since then I have only run oreilly-sucks.com and once in a while I build a website for someone and they pay me a small fee to do it. But that only happens about once a year, if that.

In the last 6 months or so I have applied for some jobs to see if anyone would hire me, even if the job might be too hard on my back for me to do. I applied at many places, in person, and on their website. From printing companies, to warehouse jobs, to forklift jobs, to a job at burger king or hardees. I even applied for telemarketing jobs, and they will not hire me either.

I worked as a Journeyman Cutter in a printing factory called International Paper Company, from 1978 to 1995. And even the printing companies will not hire me. I do not know for sure, but I believe it is age discrimination.

Nobody will hire me, they never call me back, or respond to my e-mails. I put in the application, then I never hear from them again, any of them. I even called some of them weeks later and asked if they were going to offer me a job and they always say no, or we will get back to you. Then they never get back to me, ever, not once.

My question is, does anyone know what I can do. Is there any government programs for people like me, what does a person do when nobody will hire them for any job?

People (mostly Republicans) say there are jobs out there for you if you want to work. But they never say what a person does if nobody will hire them.

My father is 82 years old and he will not live forever. If something were to happen to him I would be in his house with no income and no way to pay the bills. So I would basically be homeless, unless my brother or someone in the family would take me in.

Basically I am asking what a person does when they want to work but nobody will hire them, does anyone have an answer to that question. Is there a government program that helps people like me, would I qualify for welfare?

I'm pretty sure I can get food stamps, but that is only $120 a month, and it wont pay the bills if something happens to my Father. I need a job, but nobody will hire me, so what does a person like me do in this situation?

[EFerrari]

1. I'd go to the Small Business Administration.

It's hard to be a new hire if you're over forty. One way around that is to do a small start up and the SBA may have a program that would fit you.

I'm more or less in the same boat although I still have free lance work coming in.

[NightWatcher]

2. so sorry to hear of your situation, but the government doesnt care about you

social safety net- nope, go f yourself.
standard rw response- too damn bad... and something about 'bootstraps'
DU response- sorry to hear, hope things turn around, would love to help but....

I had to start my own business after running into walls re: what I did/do and who would hire me. The only thing that I could recommend is that you use your web-sense to make a new website and sell marketing. Ad revenues for some lesser known sites is insane. Maybe aim the new page(s) at something not Bill-O related- I cant stand that guy. Also, might I rec that you sell shirts at your website. I am huge 'wity t-shirt fettishist' (see busted tees, snorg tees, tshirt hell......)

I really do hope that you are able to turn our situation around. When you do, you can send me a cool tshirt from your new site.
:hi:

[VP505]

3. I feel your pain

but I have a real problem understanding why your having such a tough time finding a job when you only 47, your not that old to be experiencing age discrimination. Have you though about contacting your state Department of Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities? State DVR offices offer a lot of help for disabled people.

[SharonRB]

4. My husband is in the same boat, but he's 60

He hasn't worked in almost five years. He used to do computer work and is trying to get back into IT. His last job was driving for a limo service, but then he had surgery on his cervical spine and had to stop doing that because of the lifting. Ever since then he's been looking for an IT job. Thank goodness I have a good job with benefits, but things are still tight. I told him if he doesn't find anything by the time he turns 62 a year from May, he's going to file for Social Security early. It will be a huge help. He keeps saying he's going to find a job, but that tune has been sung too many times for me by now. I wish he'd branch out and look for other kinds of jobs, but most of them would require some kind of physical labor, which he just can't do.

[RebelOne]

5. I know AARP helps older people find jobs.

I think you have to be 50 or older. But go to their Web site and check it out. AARP.com

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

6. a couple of ideas from a 57 year old

who has gotten hired since she reached 50 and has friends older than she is getting jobs:

1. Check out any VISTA programs that might have slots opening in your area. VISTA can't discriminate, and you can get health benefits as well as a modest salary. My neighbor did this for a developmental non-profit and it led to other jobs after her year was up.

2. Learn QuickBooks accounting software. This is what most small businesses use. You can freelance with many small businesses, doing basic bookkeeping for them part time. I work full time for one company and part time for another using this program.

3. Learn Spanish. A friend got a good job in a hospital at age 55 because she knew Spanish and could translate for the recent immigrants to our area.

3. Check out jobs with non-profits. And volunteer if they don't have paying jobs! I volunteered to teach basic computer skills at a Senior Center for a couple of years, and was able to use the folks at the Center as references for the full time job I eventually landed. Also while I was there I got some small paying jobs from seniors who wanted help setting up computers in their home (putting on software, etc)

Hope these ideas prove helpful to you.

[yardwork]

8. These are all excellent suggestions.

At the age of 45, I decided to leave my 20-year marriage. I had been a stay-at-home mom for fifteen years. Suddenly I needed a full-time permanent job with benefits. I had done consulting work during those years at home. I sought out jobs through my consulting contacts, and eventually landed a part-time position. I continue to apply for full-time jobs, and eventually got one. It was not my ideal position, but I worked hard for two years. Last year I was promoted into one of the jobs I had been turned down for previously.

It's hard to get a full-time permanent job after being self-employed for many years. I recommend that people start with anything they can get - contract work, part-time work, temporary work. Definitely retool to obtain new skills. Speaking Spanish is a huge door-opener in most parts of the country.

Once you get your foot in the door, work very hard, be very reliable, and make yourself indispensable. And continue to look look look for the right job.

[sam sarrha]

7. hurt my back in '87, didnt work for 8 years, afriend tried to hire me but his workmans compensation

carrier called him and said he could me but if he did they would cancel all the other 15 policies of his other workers and reschedule the payments... i got part time jobs for a while and got a work history, and got back to work, tho recently i lost my left hand and i am back to square one

[distantearlywarning]

9. Try your state's Vocational Rehabilitation programs.

They work with the disabled (even people who don't qualify for SS, but have trouble working), and they can find you jobs. They will even pay for training and other stuff.

[Wiley50]

10. If it's been several years, apply for SS disability again

This time it would have to be SSI as you haven't paid in in several years.

The attorney won't charge unless you get it and they take it out of your back pay since your filing date.

Here's the thing: the closer you get to 50 the more likely, but being out of work for so long helps too.

I'm 52, with a failed back surgury and got my SSI approved almost 3 years ago. It took 3 1/2 years but would have been
sooner if I had had a lawyer from the start. A lot of it depends on which state you live in, some are harder. I live
in TN which is the hardest. The agency that approves you is not SS but a state agency. They can only refuse on appeal 2 or 3 times.
Then they have to let you get a hearing with a Federal Admin Judge. My state agency never approved me and I was late appealing a couple of times and had to start over each time. That's why a lawyer is so important. It's in their benefit to stay on top of it.
But as soon as it hit the judge's desk, he approved it on the spot and didn't even hold a hearing. The judges have an overburdened
work load and if you're even close they'll approve you just to get your file off their desk.

Good Luck!

$638/mo isn't much, but it was only $579/mo at first, so it keeps going up. If you own your home without a payment it's enough for property taxes and utilities. I didn't, but got a lump sum of almost $8000 back pay when it went through. In my case, I bought
a $2500 28 ft sailboat on ebay and it's a great home for me, but I've fooled with sailboats since 1979. Older motorhomes can be bought for the same money. so whatever works out for you.

[walldude]

11. I would re-apply for disability, being closer to 50 makes it

much easier to get through. My wife had to go through the system for over a year but she finally got hers, with a big back payment for the time she had been waiting for the case to come up. On top of that, since you have a bit of web experience, I would look to doing small web sites for people. Get a domain, use the stuff you have already done as a resume and hope for the best. Things usually work out the way they are supposed to. I lost my job after 16 years of service, had no money in the bank and no severance. I also had 3 kids to feed. I started freelancing and in 3 years I was making triple what I did after 16 years with the same company.