My great-grandmother was a talented quilter. She grew up in a rural community where quilting was the cherished folk art and social hobby among the women; but even after she moved to another state, she kept up her interest in quilting.

When you look at a quilt, you notice that it consists of many pieces of fabric stitched together to accomplish a larger goal: be it to keep someone warm, to create a keepsake gift, or to provide something beautiful for the home.

That is the image I want you to think of for your family’s financial rescue plan during this recession, instead of the “safety net” image that has long been popular and the “bailout” mentality that has recently popped up.

A safety net implies that there is a big umbrella available and waiting to catch you should there be a misstep, so you don’t fall too far or get hurt too bad.

A bailout implies that you won’t have to change your lifestyle because your finances will be magically rescued by the equivalent of winning the economic lottery.

Neither scenario is the reality for middle-class and working-class families who are dealing with layoffs, furlough days, pay cuts, cutbacks in hours, early retirement, businesses shutting down or going bankrupt, etc., in today’s economy.

Your financial rescue will be a patchwork quilt that includes fabric pieces from many resources. And it’s a quilt designed by you.

Your quilt will look different from the quilt that your sister, your neighbor, your co-worker is also assembling. Your color selection may have Amish-style “plain colors” and a block pattern. Your friend might prefer the wedding ring motif with floral prints. One family may work on a baby crib-sized quilt. Another family will need one big enough for a queen-sized bed.

Why is a quilt an appropriate image for a financial rescue?

Because the financial assistance that is available to families in this recession doesn’t rely on just your household income! The following circumstances also matter quite a bit:

• The public and private programs and services that are available in your state, county or city.
• Your talents in a variety of vocational and home economics skills, or willingness to learn.
• Whether you have special circumstances such as a military employee, senior citizen, K-12 children, a college student or a disabled person in your family.
• Your family’s cooperation in making whatever money you do get stretch as far as possible.
• And a lot of resourcefulness on your part for just filling out the darn applications or following up on an opportunity.

To explain this situation, The New York Times has this article at MSNBC: Amid recession, a disjointed safety net.

A snippet:

As millions of people seek government aid, many for the first time, they are finding it dispensed American style: through a jumble of disconnected programs that reach some and reject others, often for reasons of geography or chance rather than differences in need.

Health care, housing, food stamps and cash — each forms a separate bureaucratic world, and their dictates often collide. State differences make the patchwork more pronounced, and random foibles can intervene, like a computer debacle in Colorado that made it harder to get food stamps and Medicaid.

The result is a hit-or-miss system of relief, never designed to grapple with the pain of a recession so sudden and deep. Aid seekers often find the rules opaque and arbitrary. And officials often struggle to make policy through a system so complex and Balkanized.

Where do you even start?

In most cities across the country, start by calling 211 or your United Way. Keep in mind that the staff at the 211 hotline or United Way isn’t going to give you money directly. They will try to refer you to the agencies and programs in your community that will be able to assist you.

But if you live in southeast Michigan, including Monroe County, Julie’s List has done a lot of that research and posted it on line. Based on her social work experience and training, Julie has compiled a huge database of assistance programs from government agencies and non-profits in the area.

And yes, I’ve also compiled a lot of information for southeast Michigan and northwest Ohio residents in my blogroll and sidebars. Many of those resources came from my newspaper reporter experience and training.

The sidebar most relevant to this discussion is Do you need assistance? Tips to read first.