The Hardest Situation Yet

Getting back on my feet this time, has been the hardest, the loneliest and the scariest ever.  Last December, I lost my job, and it was the most traumatic ever.  I wasn't fired, my company MedPro Staffing, lost its contract with CSC.  So, all the MedPro employees were called on the same day and told that their contract was ending and that Friday was their last day.  The company called me first and told me not to tell anyone.  So, I sat in the office watching people one by one getting a call to say that they had lost their job 10 days before Christmas.  I was sad that I was losing an income, but the job had been difficult starting the first day.  I was hired to help make change; however, if change isn't really wanted, or accepted, it benefits no one.  And, it is torture to the person that you bring in to make change, have them review your situation and then do nothing, except fail.  Do I believe if they had made my changes we would still have a job, maybe, a few months later the State of Maryland suspended the contract and everyone lost their jobs.  And, I have to admit, I do believe that my changes could have helped save that contract. I think that the state would have looked at the contractors as trying to make an effort.  Anyway, when I lost my job, I filed unemployment, however, when the state of Maryland contacted MedPro, my company told the state that I was still employed.  When that happens in the state of Maryland, a red flag goes on your case and they do an investigation, because there could be fraudulent activity.  I immediately called ADP which was my company’s payroll and benefit handler, they were rude and unpleasant, and then I would call MedPro in Florida.  MedPro told me that it was their policy to keep their employees on the books in case another position came up, and then they wouldn't have to start the hiring process and paperwork again.  Also, I could keep my benefits.  I understood this, however, MedPro specializes in Nursing and Medical Staffing, and I was a Technical Writer working on a state Medicaid project.  So, I didn't fit their typical employee profile.  Their policy works for their typical employee, and it may have worked for me, if someone there was also looking for employment for me.  However, that was not the case.  Also, I found out that the insurance coverage was not even true.  I went the dentist to get my teeth cleaned, and I was not covered.  So, I had to cancel my appointment, I thought about complaining to them about it, because they had taken money out or my check for Dental Insurance, yet I was not covered.  Technically, they do still owe me that money, however, because they had it taken out of my payroll, but never enrolled.  But, now, I was worried about how I was going to keep a roof over my head.  So, I kept calling them as well as well as job hunting.  Meanwhile my money was going fast because I did not have any income, I had a small 401K through MedPro, which theoretically I should have been able to either remove or take a lone on, because I was still an employee, but I couldn’t get access to that little money either.  At the end of December, I called because MedPro still did not change my status, and the told me that my rep was on vacation and only she could authorize the change.  I spoke with everyone up to the president, and all I ever received was I am sorry, but that is our policy.  I also continued talking with the State of Maryland, and the Unemployment office representative asked me if I explained to MedPro what type of position they were putting me in by not releasing me as an employee.  Not only was I unable to draw, unemployment, I could not take advantage of the state’s employment assistance program.  Maryland has a few programs that will assist you in finding employment.  I was locked out of everything.  Also, I was locked out of some financial assistance programs because the requirements were that you had to be working with proof of income or receiving unemployment, I had neither.  It puts a whole different spin on talking to bill collectors.  They would ask me when did I think that I would get paid, or receive any benefits, and I had no answer. 

I didn't give up looking for a job, or calling MedPro and ADP.  No matter how rude they were to me, I talked to them on a regular basis.  When I finally got my rep from MedPro and told her that the company had not taken me off their books (nor found me employment), she demanded to know who I had talked to because I should have been off.  But, her “surprise and outrage” didn't matter.  I was behind in all of my bills, I was being evicted, my accounts were in the negative and what little money I had was being used for food, lights and gas.  I continued to look for a job every day.  I no longer had internet access so I went to Panera Bread and used their free Wi-Fi.  I would get a coffee and apply to jobs for as long as I could.  I kept thinking that things would have to turn around.  However, I just couldn't seem to make it work and I couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel. 

After MedPro finally reported to ADP that I was no longer and employee, it took weeks for ADP to tell the state of Maryland that I was not an employee.  I know because I still called everyday.  After Maryland was informed I had to have another case review, and Maryland had a case backlog because not only were they handling unemployment, there were the cases of where people had run out of unemployment benefits and they were seeking assistance as well.  So, the state couldn't tell me when they were going to review my case.  I just needed to be ready when they sent me a time slot, because if I didn’t my case would go back in the pile.  This consisted of more months of waiting, with no idea of when I would receive my money.  

I received my money the same day that I lost my apartment.  The property management company wanted all of their money, and I didn't have that.  So, my money went to renting a storage unit and a U-haul truck.  It was in February, and it was extremely cold outside, and when I sat down that evening and ate, I bit on something and my back tooth split and started bleeding.  I wanted to start crying, because even though I knew this was happening to other people, I didn't see it coming and I wasn't prepared.  And, I couldn't stop what was happening.  It was like watching a train wreck.  Also, even people see this happening to others all of the times, if it happens to someone you know, many people wonder if that person is going to ask them for something.  I think that it also frightens others.  It is like you now have the failure plague, and it may be contagious. 

A friend let me stay at her house for a few weeks, until I could get myself together.  I continued job hunting and I started filing my taxes, because I was sure that I would get a refund because I had been unemployed last year longer than I had been employed.  Plus, while I was employed I had been trying to finish grad school, which is expensive, but also something that you can write off on your taxes.  My plan was to either start working, if I found a job, or move back home to Detroit and collect unemployment there until I found a job.  

I found a job, but it was in Albany.  I actually had the interview in my car.  I brought what things I could, and I have been trying to make a go of it in here.  It has not been easy and I have had a few financial setbacks, which is hard when you are already in trouble.  I have also lost contacts with some friends and family.  It has been a really trying time, and like I said, in some way it is like having the failure plague; people don’t want to be around you.  Mostly, because they think that you will ask them for something.  Now that I am in Albany, I am trying to start over by myself.  And, it has been difficult.  My brother thinks that I should get over what MedPro did, but it started a ball rolling that I couldn't stop.  And, I did try to stop it.  I tried everything that I could think of doing.  And I have prayed.  I don’t know what else to do.  The other issue is that as you falter people wonder if you are really trying to help yourself up or are you looking for pity.  Meanwhile bill collectors just ask you, to get a loan

from your friends and/or family (LOL).