Self-Sufficiency 4ever

For anyone who's ever risen before dawn to ride to their rusty bicycle to a neighborhood food stamps office, peeled off a number, then waited two hours to be summoned by a desk clerk who thinks they're working at the county jail, I offer you here the pick of the crop. Known in the social work scene as "Self-Sufficiency Offices," these typically one-story ranch-style beige buildings have a lot in common and a lot to offer. In addition to the requisite services like Medicaid and Cash Assistance, each Self-Sufficiency Office rounds out the bill with free Xerox machines, clean restrooms, color TV, and inter-office phones. And in case any troublemakers threaten the orderly environment, there's always a middle-aged, male security guard on watch at a large desk awkwardly placed in the center of each main waiting room.

I visited these offices during mid-morning and afternoon lulls, and was therefore spared much of the urgency and chaos I'd experienced on past, non-research related visits. But as one woman I spoke with at the St. Johns office reminded me, this was the last day of the month -- on the 1st, the offices were sure to be swarming with nervous recipients who hadn't gotten their monthly dues on the expected date. It was true that the staff at each location seemed more relaxed and helpful than I remembered, and the afternoon sun and low, droning television created a surprisingly peaceful and inviting environment in each waiting area.

The personality and atmosphere of each location was unique and the crowd, if there was one, seemed to fit the neighborhood. Nearly all the "customers" I saw in each office were women, mostly people of color, very few children. Each had a bulletin board with unique and sundry notices and offerings: SE Powell addressed gay and lesbian domestic violence; Lombard listed DHS's Core Values of Integrity, Stewardship, Responsibility, Respect and Professionalism; and Alberta encouraged people to register to vote. However diverse, each Self-Sufficiency Office shared a similar, eerie quality of...otherworldiness. Standing at the entrance and looking out over the expanse of sun-dappled carpet and purple-upholstered chairs, hearing the din of inside-voices exchange between patrons and workers, it occurred to me that whether or not one was choosing an office at which to seek public assistance, one could choose to pleasantly loiter at any office of their choosing. And if they did so on a Friday afternoon, late in the month, they might find a surprising reprieve. In a place that offers any citizen an onsite security guard, clean bathrooms, large sun-filled windows, and a diverse collection of children's literature, free of charge, a person may feel that they've found an oasis of order and calm in the most unlikely of places.

Common folklore varies about whether one is permitted to choose which office they frequent for their Human Service needs, but the people I spoke with seemed to feel, at least, that they had made a good choice, whether or not it was a choice at all (as many people believe that you are assigned an office based on your address when you register an application). I invite you to try them all out, and see if you're eligible for public assistance while you're at it. If all goes well, you could leave with a locked and loaded EBT card all your own, featuring the emblematic brown covered wagon. There's really nothing like the feeling that comes from making that first dent in a full balance of food stamps.

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Alberta Self-Sufficiency Office - 30 NE Webster Suite A - 503.280.6052

This is the office I frequented when I was getting food stamps, back when they were paper, and I harbor both seething anger and a sense of loyalty toward the place, particularly its draconian staff. The security guard, who keeps a fresh red rose in a cut-crystal vase on his desk, seems friendly and eager to chat, though I wouldn't recommend it, and the children's area has big finger-paintings by kids up on the wall and a little table with miniature chairs. The bathroom is spacious and clean, with numerous posters encouraging HIV testing. This is a busy, popular office, so it's highly unusual to find it as peaceful as I did during my field research. It's common to wait up to two or three hours to see a desk clerk, to say nothing of getting into the actual caseworker pen to be assessed and awarded.

The parking lot has a weird stacking system, like they do in some lots downtown, where you have to give your keys to someone and they move your car if the person parked behind you has to leave. In the case of my car, which has been likened to a riding lawnmower and has a pre-warming diesel system, I was skeptical that the friendly attendant would be capable of moving it or even getting it started. Anyways, this valet-style parking adds a bit of glamor to the whole experience.

This location is flanked by the illustrious Alberta Arts District and the shiny new Mississippi Neighborhood. The closest grocery store is a Safeway, but, true to the typical fare available in a historially impoverished neighborhood, you're sure to find somewhere to buy liquor and Cheetos before you get there.

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St. Johns Self-Sufficiency Office - 6443 N Lombard - 503.872.6834

Located in a low white-washed building off of Lombard, surrounded by orderly foliage and small trees, this location had a real white picket fence feel about it. The quietest, least populated location by far, with only two people in the waiting area, the Lombard office had a pleasant, neighborly atmosphere. It almost felt like a place you might stop by on a walk just to chat it up with the friendly staff.

I spoke with one woman in high-business fashion using the copy machine. She said she comes to this location on purpose because it's quieter and "you don't have to take a number." The friendliness of staff can make or break a Self-Sufficiency Office, and my informant said, as far as the St. Johns office goes, "it depends on who you get; one of the ladies is impatient, the other is really there, and knows how to deal with what you're bringing her." It happens that my informant was only there to deal with medical coverage, as she had stopped applying for food stamps after she got a good job.

A nearby U-Store warehouse offers inexpensive temporary storage, and the best locksmith in town has an impossibly small yellow kiosk in the parking lot of a convenience store down the street. He has long hair and is very quiet. After you're done blowing your 'stamps at the Lombard Fred Meyers, you can pop a wheelie down to Cathedral Park, just 10 minutes away, under the St. Johns bridge. My mom used to take my sister and I there in the summers for complimentary bag lunches when we were kids, back when you didn't have to take a number to get free food.

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Southeast Self-Sufficiency Office - 3975 SE Powell Blvd. - 503.731.3207

Lodged in a decrepit old strip mall off 39th and Powell, this location had a less than friendly vibe. The windows were dank and shaded, and the people looked vigilant and worn. I visited the bathroom first, which I found smelling good and spanking clean. The color scheme was a really striking pink and orange combo, and a framed poster was attached to the wall: "ATTITUDE is a little thing that makes a BIG difference."

Back out in the lobby, I noticed a markedly more motley and diverse clientele than the other locations. I saw a Muslim woman in traditional dress, a punk lesbian, teenagers, mothers with children, and a long-haired blonde man in a ski jacket who was visibly intoxicated.

Everyone at this location seemed suspicious of my presence and less than enthusiastic about answering my questions. However, the fellow in the ski jacket managed to tell me that he had "been getting jerked around" at this office, that the workers were not nice, were in fact impatient, and that this office was typically very busy. A young mother was at first so unresponsive to my questions as to appear catatonic, but then her gentle response yielded sensitive and articulate information that suggested she'd spent many an afternoon observing the place, with her kids tugging at her pant leg, waiting for her number to be called. She said the downtown location was faster, but agreed with me that there appeared to be a good selection of toys for kids to play with, unlike other locations, and remarked that it was because the teen parent unit is in the same building.

The good news is, once you're done meeting with your case worker at the Southeast office, the Ace of Hearts sex club is just around the corner on 39th, just south of Powell. When you're ready for replenishment, you can dash across the street to the Safeway, or travel a little farther to the People's Food Co-op on SE 21st and Clinton.

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Northeast Self-Sufficiency Office - 4425 NE Broadway - 503.280.6696

This was another light-drenched, tranquil environment on my Self-Sufficiency tour. There were under a dozen adults and some kids interacting quietly in their seats, and a low-volume television. The bathrooms were clean with a spacious counter and a tampons and pad machine, though I was disappointed to find that the machine didn't sell condoms. Tony, the security guard, noticed me walking around taking notes and took it upon himself to embark with me on a tour of the various postings and papers available in the waiting area. He was upbeat and matter-of-fact, and seemed to know a surprising amount of information about "his" clientele. The commitment and emotion he expressed toward the clientele was endearing and surprising; he seemed to really understand where they're all coming from and how hard they've got it. However, he did recount some negative experiences at the Northeast office:

"I personally got hit in the face with a phone that was corded to the wall, and I'm not big on violence, but I--(speech overpowered by screeching child)....I'm a hundred and thirty-five pounds, but I took down a two-hundred and fifty-five pound guy, pinned him to the ground 'til the police got here. I mean, we've had limos pull up and apply for food stamps...If you can name it, I've seen it. We have the complete upper-class from Russia, who come from money but they can't get a job in the U.S. and they don't speak English, and the U.S. isn't real good on that, to people who don't have a thing in the world.

"There's definitely escalations when it comes to money, when it comes to pride, when it comes to time. Time is...99% of fights are time. If somebody gets seen who's Russian before an American who feels he's bein'...or vice versa. And then you've got, words are flung, and you can't take words back. And I can only protect you until you get off the property."

Tony said that Somali, French, Vietnamese, Spanish, Arabic, Lao, Cambodian, Hmong, and Portugese are only some of the languages spoken at this location, and there is an incredibly large number of languages in which the paperwork necessary to receive services is offered. The universal language of good bargains is spoken at two nearby favorites: Trader Joe's and Value Village, and you can rent a violin at Cascade Music around the corner for $18 a month. The weekly Saturday Farmer's Market accepts your EBT card for their fresh, local foods, and a nearby public library on the other side of Sandy offers afternoon storytime for kids.

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New Market Theater Self-Sufficiency Office - 50 SW 2nd Ave - 503.294.1041

With a name like this, I was anticipating some glitz and glamor, or at least an artistic atmosphere, at this central downtown location, and I wasn't entirely disappointed. Just around the corner from the Skidmore Fountain, this office is housed in an old business building that's managed to retain some of its original charm. Despite the government-issue facade of big metal doors and a Self-Sufficiency sign, the historic columns and plasterwork around the main waiting area of this office provide some distraction from the dreary business of waiting for your number to be called.

A mixed downtown crowd of college students, homeless folk, and various people filled this busy location. Under the domed ceiling and elaborate trim, the standard purple, back-breaking chairs were an aesthetic letdown, yet I couldn't help but believe that the subtle excitment generated by unusually historical and decorative setting for a food stamps office was at least partially responsible for the swiftness and efficiency being conducted behind the counter. The people I tried to interview looked at me like I was naked and had many eyes, but I was able to eek a few words from one of them: "I like this one the best," my informant said, "The others I've been to, they're like givin' me the run-around. This place, they'll help you right on the spot." He said it's usually busier in the mornings, but in the afternoons it's "fairly mellow." I attempted to speak with a woman seated near the door who just chuckled continuously in response until she was called up to the counter a minute later.

If you choose to visit this emotionally dreary yet aesthetically pleasing location, you might leave feeling forlorn and disoriented. You could choose to buy groceries in this neighborhood, but you might have to settle for what's available at the surrounding gas station marts. If you have any actual dollars, I suggest visiting Voodoo Donuts a block or two away on 3rd, then walking down to the waterfront to enjoy your special treat. After you polish off your donut, walk up a ways to Nordstroms on SW Broadway and shake down the cosmetics counters for free samples. It'll feel good knowing you've already had dessert and gotten free shit, and you still have a covered wagon in your pocket, loaded with 'stamps.

- Valentine

http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/assistance/index.shtml