Should I Leave My Job?

We are making great strides at ending homelessness and connecting people in that community to mental health and substance programs. I am FINALLY doing therapy with this population. My boss is great. So… what’s the problem? Well, yesterday was my two year anniversary at Tarzana. I was expecting to do my annual review. I’m expecting […]

Too Poor to Work

A few years ago I was in a crunch. I earned $18 an hour and was raising a 4 year old child. I wrote about how hard finding child care made it for me to work here in 2015. Here is how my budget broke down… Income: $2,880 But… I didn’t see my full check. […]

First Post Grad Job – False Start

Okay, I am armed with a Master of Social Work degree and I am determined to do the most good with it. Job hunting is like dating. I swipe right and left and set up interviews to see if I can find a relationship where my specific history and skill-set is needed. As for me, […]

You will never understand what it’s like to be Black in a White World

Hal Espy was my boss at Cal State Long Beach when I worked in the Kitchen for 49er Shops. He was (may still be) a tall man who repeated the name of the person he just met seven times in their first introduction and then he never forgot the name. He was an Olympic Hopeful […]

In the E.R. with NO health Insurance

Yesterday I was admitted to the Emergency Room for neuropathy and dizziness . I had called the advice nurse the night before and was told to come in immediately. As you know I am a single mother, so I had to wait until I had child care. I walked into Urgent Care and they […]

The Vocational Assessment

The primary goal of GAIN is to be a true Welfare to Work plan. before a client finds work, it is helpful for them to have an idea of their strengths and interests. Enter the Vocational Assessment. Today I went to the Valley Assessment Center at Los Angeles Valley Community College and took an assessment […]

So I’m boycotting Carl’s Jr

@andyPuzder makes me sad because other than In N Out, @CarlsJr is the only fast food I love. I was thrilled to place a client in a job there last year. Now I am disgusted that their CEO thinks his employees love being in Welfare. Are you kidding me? I wish he would sit down […]

The truth about Minimum Wage

“Common Sense” – aka knowledge held by the common man fails in this argument. The LA City Council studied 3 peer reviewed studies before increasing minimum wage. I don’t know what they read – but here is some of what I found. Neoclassical economic theories present a clear prediction: as the price of labor […]

Women’s Pay With Education

Education and ethnicity still not equalize pay for women. Still less than pay for men. So: 1. Research pay for your field of interest. 2. Speak to others who have the job you want and ask about pay and benefits … you will need this to negotiate. 3. Do not ask this of the folks […]

My Addiction to Kids

Some people are worth the effort to change the world