BC 2012 08 20 Regular Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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August 20, 2012 (Regular Meeting) Page 1193 seen. At this time, Rosemary called me out of the waiting room and told me they could not see me that day and for me to go home and they would call me if a spot opened up before my appointment date. There were approximately ten Spanish speaking people now in the waiting area of which none were told to leave. I noticed that Rosemary was smirking at me when she told me to leave and I have learned from experience that she was probably just discriminating against me because she knew she would not be punished for doing so. I came back the next morning and there was another Hispanic woman working at the front window with Rosemary so I signed in with her and went into the waiting area. After I watched over a dozen Hispanics and African Americans whom arrived after me being called into the treatment area. I asked the Hispanic female calling their names if mine was on the list and she said no. I then went up to the front window and asked why I was not on the list being called and was told by the new lady that I was on a different list and would be next up. Z?. few minutes later Rosemary called me up front and took a thirty dollar mandatory cash payment from me to cover the cost of the referral and five minutes later the other woman called my name and I was allowed into the same treatment area as everybody else but by a circuitous route and through a different doorway. After receiving my referral on July 3, 2012 I left and after the fourth of July holiday, I went to the Cabarrus County Department of Social Services and began the process of applying for the Community Care Program. My first interview was conducted by an African American woman whom treated me with dignity and respect which was a real shock as she was the first woman of her race working at DSS whom had done so. After she took my information I went back into the waiting area and in a short period of time I heard someone calling my name and I began looking for the person calling my name as I could not see them. I finally saw a woman standing in the hallway by the door leading to the interview area which was some fifteen feet from the doorway of the waiting area and went up to her and told her my name. However, instead of walking me into the back to perform the interview she told me to sit at the desk near the doorway to the waiting area where she also sat down. She then asked me why I was trying to get on the Community Care Program so I began to explaining about the chemical poisoning. However, she immediately interrupted me within one minute and said that I was not eligible for this program because I had been injured while working. I asked her why that disqualified me and she said it was because all of the doctors involved in this program were refusing to treat anyone whom had been injured while at work. I decided she was lying so I told her to give me the refusal in writing stating the reasons I was being denied admittance to the Community Care Program. Once she realized that she could not trick me into leaving, she got up from her chair and said she would have to ask her supervisor Mrs. Nance for permission to proceed with my application and then she walked into the back. She returned in a few minutes and told me to follow her into the back and we sat at her desk and did the paper work to start the inquiry. While reading the papers that this woman gave me to sign I learned that her name was Kim Speaks. Afterward, I left and started putting together the necessary documentation that was required of me and after submitting it I called the office of Ben Rose to see if he was interested in learning about the kind of problems that White Males were experiencing with his agency. I had to leave a message for Mr. Rose and was later called by a woman who told me her name was Tricia Baker and that Mr. Rose was out of the office that day and had asked her to handle the matter for him. So I told her of my experiences and explained that I was going to continue trying to reach - those higher up in the hopes of solving this problem of female DSS employees openly discriminating and verbally abusing those whom they are prejudiced against. Solutions to the problem: 1) It is my belief that the best way to solve this problem of paper work not being processed quickly is to dismantle the teams as it provides for too much anonymity in their dealings with the public which allows them to get away with refusing to help those whom they are prejudiced against.