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Nagging Welfare Perceptions Result in Shame for Recipients

Brittney Herrera

By Brittney Herrera

Even though roughly half of Bronx families are supported by welfare, the stigma on relying on public assistance persists, with many recipients bearing the brunt of presumption.

“Some people’s perceptions of me being on EBT (Electronic Benefits Transfer) is that I am abusing my EBT,” said Jennifer Barona, 24, a single mother in the Bronx. “It feels very overwhelming.”

Nagging Welfare Perceptions Result in Shame for Recipients (Picture)
A LOOK INSIDE an office for those seeking public assistance. Statistics show half of Bronx families rely on some type of government aid.

Welfare helps her take care of her two toddlers, but she doesn’t feel good about her situation. “The first time when I was in the waiting office, I was pregnant with my first toddler. There was a lot of ghetto people and I felt out of place,” said Barona.

The same went for Gabriela Aguilera, 20, who often feels “so low” when entering a welfare office.

“It is a place where people with no financial stability go to get assistance for their needs,” she said.

Figures from the U.S. Census Bureau show that at least 49 percent of Bronx families are on welfare. From 2007 to 2010, the number of people on welfare in the Bronx increased by 18 percent.

Citywide, welfare fraud indeed occurs. The city’s Investigation, Revenue and Enforcement Administration, tasked to investigate welfare abuses, recouped $28.7 million in inappropriate payments to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in 2013, according to the most available statistics.

Teens pick up their parents’ discomfort of pleading for help. Yadira, 17, whose last name was withheld for fear her friends would know her family’s on welfare, said young people are unaware of shame families feel in applying for welfare. “It is a little embarrassing, and teenagers are very immature nowadays with situations like this” Yadira said.

On the other hand, there are people who do not see welfare as necessarily a bad thing. Mauricio Berrios, 19, has a father who is on welfare. Though it doesn’t directly affect him, Berrios noted he “would feel comfortable because the way I see it is as an extra helping hand.”

But that doesn’t help Barona who said she often hears plenty of assumptions about welfare recipients. “Some stereotypes that I hear is ghetto, lazy, trashy people,” she said. “I am just a regular person from the borough of the Bronx.”

 

Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.

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