List of things my first welfare worker said to me on our first meeting.
"you should probably dress for your size" (in response to me mentioning dealing with some chafing when it was 25+°)
"You don't have anxiety. That's just something they tell young girls with feelings" (after I was saying I'd been diagnosed with GAD and agoraphobia.)
Me: I'm an alcoholic. Her: do you get drunk everyday? Me: Uhm no, but I drink every day. Her: oh well then you're not an alcoholic. (Firstly, I was lying. Secondly, I was in a shelter and one of the conditions was I wasn't allowed to drink. I would have lost my shelter placement if I had been getting drunk every day. I was doing my best to keep myself in control)
Her: so you're planning on getting a job? Me: not at the moment, I was just trafficked and need time to heal from that. Her: it's probably time you start getting over that. (It hadn't even been 3 weeks since I escaped)
Me: I'd like to apply for ODSP since I am physically disabled and have PTSD. Her: gives me a random form that has nothing to do with ODSP.
Her: do you do odd jobs? Me: I worked for a friend last week for 40$. Does that count? Her: is it consistent? Me: No it was just the once. Her: *marks that I have a consistent income, doesn't explain that I need to claim it, doesn't explain HOW to claim it and cuts off my welfare every month for over a year without telling me why*
From a future perspective, I think she thought I was trying to game the system. Even though I had a police report, and a lot of evidence that what had happened to me had happened. For some reason that wasn't enough. Not to mention, despite not being your medical professional thinks that she can invalidate people's diagnosis.
I have asked multiple workers since if I could file a complaint about her, and I have been ignored every single time. It's been 7 years, but some of the stuff bothers me to this day. Not so much me personally, but thinking that she's still treating other young afab people like this.
I had just been indoctrinated into a sex cult... And had the bravery and fortitude to get out. It hadn't even been a month since I'd separated from them and she thought I should get over it.
Her specialty was also substance abuse. Which is insanity, you don't need to be drunk every day to be an alcoholic. I'm a severe alcoholic now and I don't get drunk everyday. My tolerance is too high to do so.
I was a traumatized young woman who desperately needed support. The max allowance for somebody in a shelter is 343$. She seemed to see it as if I was making up a story about being trafficked, had reported it to the police, and was living in a shelter; so I could get 343$ a month?
I still don't understand my interactions with her. I hope she's not as awful these days. But I doubt it.
