Birdie Johnson, a 47-year-old Parkchester resident, has just applied for Home Relief, a welfare program for able-bodied adults with no dependents.
Unable to find steady work after losing her last full-time job several years ago, Johnson went to the Soundview welfare office as a last resort.
The odds that she will not qualify for aid are six in ten, according to a report released by the mayor's office last week.
There were 244,333 Home Relief cases in the city last year. This year, only 7,658 applicants have been accepted, compared to 19,450 at the same time last year. Mayor Rudolph Giuliani favors the gradual elimination of the program.
"If they're going to reject you, why don't they have a job ready for you?" Johnson asked. "They talk about reforming the welfare system. The President talks about creating jobs. Well, where are they? Tell me, `cause I'll sure get one."
Johnson has barely begun the new screening process that will take at least 45 days to complete.
The longer wait, the tougher requirements, a 90-day limit on benefits and mandatory work shifts are overdue changes, Giuliani said.
"Home Relief in New York was a very user-friendly system," the mayor said, at a joint news conference with Gov. George Pataki, "It was a system saying, `Please, come and take the money.'"
Half the rejected applicants were denied for submitting a false address and nearly a quarter were listed as "application withdrawn," the city said.
Birdie Johnson's son, Christopher, 24, was also at the Soundview office applying for Home Relief. Although he has a part-time job paying $6 an hour, he is in danger of being evicted. He is hoping to get a "one-shot deal," to help pay his back rent.
A clean-cut, mild-mannered man, Johnson has been so frustrated with not being able to find a decent job, and so upset by the endless waiting at the welfare office, that he told his mother he was about ready to commit a crime to get the money he needs.
Timothy Gore, 27, has gone that route and has just been released after spending seven years in prison. He's now living with his aunt near West Fordham Road.
"If they deny me relief, I don't know what I'll do," Gore said. "I won't commit another crime, but that's what this system is designed for."
"Whatever job they'll offer, I'm going to take."