Welfare Assistance

Who are eligible for welfare assistance? How long should a person receive such assistance? Should he receive it only for as long as he needs it? 

There are those who are born severely disabled with multiple disabilities and who are thus not in a position to earn a living; for example, those who are born without a limb and who are deaf and mute at the same time. The other group of people that I think may not in a position to work are the elderly sick people. These are people who may, in my view, receive welfare assistance and receive it for as long as they live. But what if they have families that can support them financially? Should the law make it compulsory for these families to support them then?

Now, how should we define the word ‘need’? Should there be a fixed set of guidelines to determine who has a need for welfare assistance? Would it become too rigid? On the other hand, if there is no fixed set of guidelines, would people exploit the state or those organisations providing financial assistance? Would people become too dependent on welfare assistance that they end up not wanting to work even if they can find employment?

Having worked in the social work field for quite a number of years, I have come to the realisation that every individual’s need is unique, and therefore a fixed set of guidelines determining the amount of financial help he should get and the duration of help he should receive may not be feasible. On the other hand, I have come across many people whol try to exploit the system and therefore, I also believe that there must be certain guidelines in place to ensure that exploitation is kept to the minimum.

In conclusion, I am of the view that welfare assistance should only be given to those who are truly in need and that there must be some guidelines in place to ensure that only those who need it are given the assistance. I am also of the view that no one should be given lifelong welfare assistance at all except for those people I have mentioned above.