Alexandra Jarrin, Homeless Unemployed Woman, Writes To Bernie Sanders For Help

Desperate to urge the federal government to help struggling Americans like herself, Alexandra Jarrin is writing letters to Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders -- and rallying others to do the same.

Jarrin lost her job in 2008 and hasn't been able to find another, despite submitting over 1,000 applications. She is now homeless and sleeping on a friend's couch.

Jarrin is taking action by delivering letters written by unemployed people to Sanders' office. She says the group of 99ers is "asking him to speak up for all of us."

Sanders stalled the Senate for over eight hours on Friday, in an attempt to block a deal that would extend unemployment benefits to some in exchange for a reinstatement of Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy.

CNN spoke to Jarrin about her letter-writing campaign.

WATCH:

Comments

[fortressfountain]

11:36 AM on 12/22/2010

If people over 40 are protected against age discrimination the government should make companies hire them first. If not lower the age for ss.

[carnitine]

10:56 PM on 12/15/2010

American Dream..pft! More like the American Nightmare. at least in other countries they that delude you with lies of a great life.

[MaryBethC3]

10:11 PM on 12/14/2010

I wish Alexandra Jarrin and all the people like her would have been on the Senate floor when all but seven noble Patriots voted to extend the Bush Tax Cuts for millionaires and billionaires this week. I wish they had to look at her as they cast their votes.

[KWiedemer]

05:15 PM on 12/14/2010

However, I am a 99er in Co - and I am of the firm opinion that this tax cuts debate is nothing short of obscene.

As a 99er, I am appalled by the members of Congress and the White House having the gall to discuss giving billions away to the already filthy rich, adding to the deficit, expanding the already widening income gap - without helping millions of unemployed­, middle class profession­als who now refer to themselves as 99ers?!
A homeless man living in a CO Springs tent city that has named itself 'Obamavill­e' - he is homeless as a result of being unemployed­. This is just the beginnng of what Obama will be blamed for once 2012 rolls around...

http://www­.examiner.­com/unempl­oyment-in-­denver/oba­maville-be­aurocrats-­have-ignit­ed-a-fires­torm-of-ho­melessness­-activism
Denver Unemployme­nt Examiner

[Arts4u]

04:49 PM on 12/14/2010

"Many low-labor-cost countries are bypassing the "commodity" outsourcing services such as call centers. They have pools of highly trained professionals who can provide services in design, innovation, knowledge processes, finance and accounting, marketing and sales, human resource management and procurement.' Because of this more white collar jobs are leaving our shores. Still think that unregulated capitalism works? Pandora's box has been opened - good luck to us all.

[ceefee]

06:38 PM on 12/17/2010

Yup.

[Arts4u]

01:20 PM on 12/14/2010

Why are America's two economies going in opposite directions? Two reasons.

First, big profits are coming from overseas sales of goods and services made abroad, not here. The world's fastest-growing markets are China and India, whose inhabitants are eager to buy "American" products, and just as eager to work for the American companies that sell them. The U.S. market is barely moving.

Increasingly, American corporations are able to extract healthy gains from their global operations without adding much in the United States except executive talent.

Second, American businesses are boosting productivity by having U.S. employees do more work for less pay. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, between the third quarter of 2009 and the third quarter of 2010, productivity rose 2.5 percent, output increased 4.1 percent, the number of hours worked was up 1.6 percent, and unit labor costs dropped by 1.9 percent.

From here - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-reich/why-americas-two-economie_b_796437.html

[hi Im back]

10:25 AM on 12/14/2010

Bernie Sanders is one of the VERY FEW in DC, that has the guts to
try and forwarn Americans of the hell and nonexistance of our future.
Did the media hide his heroic attempt? Yes.
He should have been front page news.
But Obama being late for Michelle-topped the news.
Our media has become the sewage--- of freedom of speech.
Huffington post is one of the few heros still reporting truth.

[VanessaFas]

11:41 PM on 12/13/2010

Obviously, all politicians are the same. Bush, Clinton, other Bush, Obama. Instead of blaming everyone, let's see what difference we can all make. Maybe if we stopped wanting everything we buy to be cheap, instead of fairly made, we wouldn't be shipping all our clothing manufacturing jobs out of the country. Maybe if we weren't so greedy and needed to own more than one car per person, we wouldn't be shipping all our car manufacturing jobs out of the country. Maybe if we weren't so much of the mindset of getting something for nothing, that we could have prevented all this will a little humility and old-fashioned living.

I don't work. I don't have to. I am lucky, my husband and I live cheap, aren't greedy, and don't shop all the time. There should be tons more families like ours, but there aren't. Why not? Because we shipped all our jobs overseas, for some discount shopping.

There is no shame in hohnest, hardworking factory folks. That's what my mom did for her first job. That's what my grandmother did for her last job. That's what we should all do. There is no shame in hard work.

[Elliot MatterofOpinion]

10:34 AM on 12/13/2010

Does a successful Wall Street translate to a successful America?
http://survey.matterofopinion.com/survey.jsp?surveyid=57

[Arts4u]

08:39 PM on 12/13/2010

Surprise! 97% said no. Trickle down does not work - never has, never will.

[signgrrl]

09:19 PM on 12/13/2010

obviously not

[AlexNYC]

10:31 AM on 12/13/2010

The unemployed who's benefits ran out after 99 weeks actually need extended assistance even more than the shorter-termed jobless, becauase they have been surviving on their meager unemployment checks. In 2006 for the first time in my life I had to live on unemployment benefits and believe it doesn't go far.

Another important issue that people are not discussing are those who worked for themselves or freelanced and because of the terrible economy have been unable to get work these last 2 years, should there be some financial unemployment assistance for them?

[Arts4u]

08:47 PM on 12/13/2010

Good point. Many people just ended up trying to survive the last few years by hobbling together occasional freelance jobs (otherwise known as CONSULTANT) after they were laid off from healthy mid-level career positions (which have now been eliminated). They would obviously rather have jobs, but haven't been able to find anything! And no, mid-level career people are NOT hired by Walmart! They are considered to be over-qualified and are not hired. No one hires out of charity. They hire to fit the job. So for anyone who complains about the $15 million people (on record - this does NOT include the 99's who are not counted in this #), you should be ashamed of yourselves. If you think it's coming out of your pocket, look elsewhere for what's really being picked out of your pocket. Look to the military for one... corporate favors for another, tax favors for the ultra-rich another. I would be ashamed to benefit from this if I made over $250,000 a year.

[ceefee]

06:41 PM on 12/17/2010

As an independent contractor, I have to say, what a blessing that would be!

[Kathleen Riley-Daniels]

10:13 AM on 12/13/2010

Talking with a friend in HR, she advertised an entry-level sales position and had 1,500 applications / resumes in the first 4 days. In addition, there are mater's and doctorate level folks applying for entry level openings which makes it more challenging for those with a bachelor's degree or less to even make the first cut...

For those against unemployment extensions, remember for most receiving the money it all goes right back into the economy.

People will certainly complain now about the unemployed. Go for it, and remember not to let the facts get in the way of a good story.

Socialism for the rich and capitalism for the rest.

[Arts4u]

08:51 PM on 12/13/2010

The push for expanding one's college education to at least a Masters over the last decade has been a lie. During the last decade, many mid-level jobs which would benefit from those with Master's degrees have been eliminated. So, now we have people who paid dearly for their masters, working at low wages, trying to pay off their loan and pay over-inflated housing costs. Do the math. Who's benefiting from all this?

[JackDermand]

09:00 AM on 12/13/2010

CALL THESE SENATORS! TELL THEM TO INCLUDE AN EXTENSION FOR THE FOUR MILLION 99'RS! VOTE YES ON THE AMERICANS WANT TO WORK ACT! DON'T LET THEM CUT OFF MILLIONS OF MEN, WOMAN AND CHILDREN DURING THE HOLIDAYS! CALL NOW!

Sen. Bernie Sanders
Washington D.C.
332 Dirksen Building
U.S. Senate
Washington,
D.C. 20510
Phone
[phone]
Fax
[phone]

Brown, Scott P. - (R - MA) Class I
317 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
[phone]
Web Form: scottbrown.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/emailscottbrown

Collins, Susan M. - (R - ME) Class II
413 DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
[phone]
Web Form: collins.senate.gov/public/continue.cfm?FuseAction=Contact...

Snowe, Olympia J. - (R - ME) Class I
154 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
[phone]
Web Form: snowe.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactSenat...

Voinovich, George V. - (R - OH) Class III
524 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
[phone]
Web Form: voinovich.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact....

McConnell, Mitch - (R - KY) Class II
361A RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
[phone]
Web Form: www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=contact

Reid, Harry - (D - NV) Class III
522 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
[phone]
Web Form: reid.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm

[Trepasky]

09:52 AM on 12/13/2010

Yes, those who are angry about the unemployed should direct their anger at folks who can change the situation.

[cgeorgan]

08:59 AM on 12/13/2010

I honestly wish that the HuffPo would publish more accurate details regarding individual's job plights.  It's like the statistics we hear about marriage & divorce - if statistics were presented HuffPo style, you'd think that every single married person has exactly a 1 in 2 chance of getting a divorce.

In reality, there are factors that affect divorce - education, wealth, age at which marriage occurs, etc.  The statistics are different for all of these groups.

Same for the jobless and - more specifically - "99'ers".  What industries did these people work in?  What is their typical educational background?  What was their socioeconomic status before the downturn?

Simply sending 1,000 resumes shows nothing more than the ability to send 1,000 resumes in the mail (or, easier, electronically).  Were these resumes for the same type of position?  A lower one?  Same type of benefits and pay, or lower/higher?  Etc - it all helps the reader get a better idea of the plight these individuals are facing.

[Arts4u]

09:19 AM on 12/13/2010

If you want to see what is happening job-wise, look at this chart from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t17.htm. Job addition has been stagnant over the last year, with many in decline, and even entry level recent college grad type jobs are difficult to attain. Over 70% of college grads from this year simply went home because they could not find jobs.

Speaking for myself, to answer your question, I have sent out numerous resumes and spoken with numerous people regarding positions at various levels, including entry level admin assistant positions after having worked at mid-level positions for over fifteen years. Simply stated, you cannot get a job at a lower level as employers don't see it as a 'good fit'. This is not a matter of people not being willing to swallow their pride or take something which is beneath them, but rather the fact that mid-level jobs have been slowly getting eliminated over the years. This has been a problem for years, and now hard-working, talented people are getting cast aside in the name of short-term profit.

[Arts4u]

09:28 AM on 12/13/2010

Socio-economic status? From all types of backgrounds. I used to be able to earn $85,000-$90,000 in sales in my field. With diminished sales #'s and increasing costs of doing business, those jobs have been eliminated. The middle class has been increasingly weakened over the last decade, culminating with the dramatic crash in 2009.

There are all types of people who have been effected - engineers, doctors, lawyers - all types of professional people who have been unable to gain a foothold after having worked very hard to assemble a 'life', which is now being taken away from them.

If you genuinely want to understand this, take a look at these... http://jobsearch.about.com/u/sty/unemployment/unemployedstory/index.127.htm

[cgeorgan]

09:35 AM on 12/13/2010

I used to be able to earn $85,000-$9­0,000 in sales in my field

Welcome to the recession.  I used to earn several multiples of that in my field - not anymore.

There are all types of people who have been effected - engineers, doctors, lawyers

Engineers have been effected, but if you ask an engineer who knows what he's doing (I know many), joblessness is generally an obstacle - not a major wall ending their careers.  Doctors?  That's laughable - there is plenty of locums and other work for physicians.  Many of those jobs pay more than what they'd make at a hospital.  I'd love to meet an unemployed physician (of course, I wouldn't want them doing any work on me).  Lawyers?  Please - we had too many before the recession.

[eyeitall]

08:51 AM on 12/13/2010

The only thing that is going to help the unemployed are JOBS and as long as Obama and his radical czars are in contol of govt regulations is it not going to happen. Folks it is time to look what Obama is doing behind the scenes with EPA and the rest of the govt agencies. All the stuff we see in the media is one big smoke screen for what the czars Obama brought in are doing. Time to wake up folks we are being screwed

[Hugh Mantis]

08:59 AM on 12/13/2010

The "czars"? As interesting a comment you are evincing, if your usage of that word is meant beyond the current political implications is completely counterproductive to your argument. ('Czars' in a non-monarchic, American respect, were created by the Reagan administration, by the way.) Try harder next time.

[Arts4u]

09:34 AM on 12/13/2010

The political system is just broken. It doesn't matter who is president anymore.... it's just an inefficient corrupt system and until corporate influence is removed from the picture, it always will be.

[Hugh Mantis]

09:01 AM on 12/13/2010

Considering you know NOTHING of this person's personal struggle, you have zero room to speak beyond your jilted mirror.

[Arts4u]

09:36 AM on 12/13/2010

Your compassion and understanding of the issue are both shameful. http://jobsearch.about.com/u/sty/unemployment/unemployedstory/index.127.htm