Like the White Album?

that would be white with black spots

I'm going to lose my home in a few weeks.

I just had my appointment with the unemployment office. The agent said that next month will be our final meeting. He said he will deny me the normal 26 weeks of unemployment benefits if I haven't secured paying work in the next 4 weeks. If I don't have a job by then, he will hand me the first job he Googles. If I refuse to work it, (because I'm enrolled in the apprenticeship I've qualified for full-time), then he will terminate my unemployment benefits immediately. He doesn't care that the apprenticeship will place me in a full-time career that pays twice what I would have otherwise made.

I don't know what else to do. My career counselor has been useless, sending sentence fragment emails rife with misspellings weeks after I reach out to her and ignoring everything I've explained in prior communications, drastically slowing the process. I tried calling the Unemployment Office to speak with the supervisor but got the "extremely high call volume" recording I've gotten every time I've called for the last 4 months and it hangs up. I have no one to advocate for me to the unemployment office. I can't take it. I'm going to lose my house. I'm going to be on the street.

The prestigious apprenticeship will be an incredible challenge on its own, but now I have to grapple with being homeless at the same time. And without medical insurance, I can't consult my talk therapist through any of this.

This is all because the apprenticeship doesn't fit NYS Unemployment's "mould." I'm sorry. I just really can't handle this.

Holy hell ISB I wish there was some way I/we could help. Nobody, especially you, deserve to go through this. I dont want to sound cliche and say "stay strong" but words are words. I sincerely hope the best for you through all of this.

Something seems off about what he's doing ISB. If I were you I would contact Legal Services in your area. They may take this case pro bono for you.

That sucks, ISB. It has to be Hell for you. I agree with DJ, try legal services. I know there are people out there that will try and help you.

Thanks everyone. I found a local legal services organization which assists with housing loss due to unemployment (mostly COVID-related) which looks like they might be able to assist. I've drafted an 1800-word summary of my struggle and will try to open a case with them if I don't hear back from the employment center soon.

damn, that's harsh

What's this apprenticeship about?
Can't they help you in some way?
Like, enroll you even on paper?

Thank you, Mucha. I've posted a bit about the apprenticeship in the past but don't want to make you go digging.

It's an apprenticeship to become a network engineer. The failures of my counselor at the city's employment center are drawing out this process over a month beyond how long it should have taken for me to get started.

After submitting the required application paperwork and being approved, I took IBM's MyInnerGenius Assessment which is a prerequisite for entry into their program. The test assesses individual skill sets and personality traits to match them with their most promising career path. The apprenticeship organization requires that applicants not only meet the minimum credentials of the test, but further requires that the Assessment determine that the desired apprenticeship program is a match to their best career path.

I exceeded every required metric of the test by a significant margin, and the Assessment matched me with Network Engineering as my best fit which earned my eligibility for the program. The results page stated:

"Only 60% of people who take the MyInnerGenius Career Fit assessment are a match; so, you are now part of an exclusive group. Matching with MyInnerGenius means you have a high likelihood of success in your chosen occupation."

The program begins with an UNPAID pre-apprenticeship of guided virtual training which usually takes about 6 weeks. Upon completion of the pre-apprenticeship, their Talent Team will assist me with job placement. My Success Coach will work with me throughout the subsequent paid job placement apprenticeship program for 12-15 months. They report that 94% of their apprentices stay at the same company in a full-time role after completing their apprenticeships.

The reported Average Starting Entry-level Salary Range for the Network Engineering position is $73,640 to $89,420 - significantly more than what I was seeing for unskilled entry-level data entry jobs.

Unfortunately these promising metrics weren't sufficient to satisfy the Unemployment Office. They want me to accept unskilled low-paying grunt work full time which would significantly lengthen the number of weeks it would take me to complete the apprenticeship. Otherwise they'll cut off my benefits.

And the added stress would wreak havoc on my severe daily panic attacks. That's why I was working remotely at my last job - for my own safety.

I need a major breakthrough soon.

Jesus Christ on the dole! Is there no political figure in your area you can go to? Here, if we have major problems we're often told "see your TD" (member of parliament) and if your story can get them a bit of credit in the community they may bring it up. Surely some senator, representative, congressman - I don't know how it works there - but someone in a position of power might look into your story?

Really hope you get it sorted: you definitely deserve some luck.