Tuesday's Visit to the Lake Worth Resource Center (LWRC)

If you visited the blog this week, you probably saw the YouTube video taken during my visit to the former shuffleboard court building. I went there to check out the LWRC and hopefully get a chance to talk with the LWRC's Chief Operating Officer, Lisa Wilson. My visit was prompted by a grant application submitted by the LWRC to the CRA for $3,000. You can find the application and back-up materials by clicking the title above.

I got there a little after noon. There were about 30 or so clients in and around the building. I went to the receptionist desk, introduced myself, told the person that I would like to look around and perhaps chat with Lisa Wilson regarding the grant application that we were going to be discussing later that day at the CRA meeting. She wasn't there right at that moment, but within a few minutes Ms. Wilson entered the building and were able to talk.

My first question was, since the LWRC serves only Lake Worth residents, how do they determine if someone lives in the city of Lake Worth when someone new comes through the door? Ms. Wilson said they ask that the person write their name and address on the application. I asked if there is any verification of that seeing as it is their policy not to ask for identification. She confirmed that they rely on clients being honest about where they live and no further verification is performed. As long as it's written, that is good enough proof.

Apparently, it was just after lunch at LWRC. They now serve breakfast and lunch to their clients Monday through Friday and dinner on Saturday. As you can see in the video, people were watching TV, relaxing or at one of the computers against the south wall of the large room. Most seemed to be watching videos on YouTube. One woman was checking for information on food stamps.

Former closet being converted by city for ADA restroom.

Ms. Wilson gave me a tour around the building. There were computers that weren't being used in the western room. These needed the wireless cards that were part of the grant application. She pointed out the work being done on converting a closet to an ADA bathroom that the city is paying for ($18,000). This is in addition to the $35,000 for the repair and re-surfacing of the parking lot and $52,000 for the new roof - all requirements due to the change of use in the building. Future improvements include the purchase and installation of impact windows ($82,000), replacement of ceiling tiles ($7,000) and exterior painting ($5,000.) These figures did not come from Ms. Wilson and were not included as information in their grant application. CRA staff gathered these figures on my request from Joe Kroll. The city also pays the electric bill for LWRC which averages between $500 and $600 per month. LWRC pays for phone and internet service.

We found a place where we could talk in relative quiet about the grant application and discuss the questions I had. Throughout, Ms. Wilson was very professional and did her best to answer my questions. I repeatedly thanked her for the attention given to me. If you look at the back-up material, you will notice there is a budget in there. I asked about getting a copy of their financial statement/budget since they are a 501c3 organization. She told me that she couldn't give me one and that if I wanted a copy, I would have to make a written request to her board of directors. (Click here for link to their website)

Most Interesting Part of the Story

At the end of the visit, I told Ms. Wilson that business for me was down and I would like to register for work here just like everyone else. According to their hand-out:

They place people for office related work, something I have experience in. Ms. Wilson said that someone would get me the employment form and then I would be registered. After a wait of about 20 minutes, I was presented with the following form and started filling it out.

When I was about half through with the form, the assistant there gave me one of these:

I asked if everyone was given one of these IRS forms to fill out that asks for your Social Security number. I was told that no, not everyone is given one and that I was already "part of the system." I then asked how she knew that and how was I different from anyone else in here who is not asked to produce identification or give their Social Security number? No real answer. That's when we got the attention of Ms. Wilson again. At this point I was told - "Oh, you want to be a worker?" I said that I thought that's what I was doing. I was told that if I want to be a worker, then I need to come back at 8 a.m. Friday morning to be registered as a worker. So, there is some sort of distinction between an "employee" and a "worker."

Was I being treated differently based upon the way I looked?

My feeling is that if this LWRC is really meant to serve the entire city of Lake Worth (as Commissioner Jennings repeatedly claimed during her recent campaign), then everyone who walks through the doors of the center needs to be treated equally.

I'll let you know what happens tomorrow morning when I report for worker registration.