Chris Jordan was making good money working at a factory in Ravenswood when the crash came.
“There are so many stereotypes that dominate the welfare debate,” says Roger Bennett, JCUA’s director of policy. “You hear it all the time: they’re lazy, they’re freeloaders, they don’t want to work. We don’t want people to take one or two shocking cases and make them universal.”
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Jordan agrees with most politicians when he says, “Welfare stinks.” The difference is in the details. As he sees it, the new changes proposed by politicians ranging from House Speaker Newt Gingrich to Governor Jim Edgar have been intended to punish recipients, not assist them. Instead of easing recipients into the mainstream work world, the changes stigmatize and demonize them. “People on welfare are portrayed as leeches and bloodsuckers who want something for nothing,” says Jordan. “But I tell people–if you really want to help someone on welfare, don’t give him money, give him a job.”
It was to reverse such trends that the welfare coalition and JCUA created the truth squad. They recruited speakers from community organizations throughout the city, enlisting them in storytelling workshops offered by Thom Clark of the Community Media Workshop. For many speakers, the storytelling was therapeutic.
“This is my story and I’m not ashamed to tell it because I know it could happen to anyone,” says Jordan. “I tell it straight and I speak with a strong voice because I want people to know what it’s like. I tell people, “If I was president I’d take every single adult male that was out of work and give him a test to see what his skill level is. Then I’d get him some training so he can get a job, and then I’d put him to work–with real wages, so he can pay his rent and feed himself. And I wouldn’t cut him off after six months, like Earnfare does. Get people good jobs and you won’t need welfare.”‘
“Frank,” someone from table three said.
“I know I live in a different world and I know that I didn’t reach all of them,” he said as he headed off for the long ride back to Chicago. “If I reached one person, I’m happy.”
