[Harry Lime]

I've never taken a handout in my life. Until recently, by choice.

When I lost my job, I didn't receive any EI benefits do to a technicality in timing and processing of my paperwork. Someone from the EI office calls me and explains why I wouldn't be receiving any funds. Based on a line of policy that meant that my application expired during the three months processing time, I no longer qualified, although I did at the time of my original dismissal.

I asked her how I could have known about some technicality, and reacted to it, and she told me that all of the knowledge is online, and that makes it my responsibility. I told her that I've been steadily sliding into debt during this time, and taking classes to upgrade my skillset had eliminated my savings. I asked her if there was any branch of the government, any recourse, that could help me, as I had no reason to not expect financial support until this moment.

She gave me the number for the suicide prevention hotline, and ended the conversation.

I ended up taking a retail position, earning less money than I have in my life, which just pounds down your sense self-worth even farther. I'm sure that there are a lot of people in my situation. I'm not surprised that people who have fallen from higher heights that I did are beyond their ability to cope. I never would have considered suicide an option until the EI officer immediately suggested it. It kind of drives home how big the problem has become, if suicide prevention is the fallback position for public support staff.

Asking for EI was enough of a self-esteem issue for me, as it would be for many people, but not receiving it and the only response being, "Ok, well try not to kill yourself" did nothing but eliminate (in my mind, at least) any public avenue of support.

How many people end up the same way, with no visible support, and decide to take option #2? A growing number, by the look of it. It's taken me two years to get back to a living wage. I have to willfully ignore my debt and previous professional aspiration, to make it work. If I had kids, or didn't have a way to meet my basic needs during this time, I couldn't even imagine the stress.