Indiana Unemployment Peer to Peer Information

Peer Support and Information Exchange Group

https://www.facebook.com/groups/264580244552870
IUPTPI@gmail.com

August 31, 2020

Governor Eric J. Holcomb

Office of the Governor
Statehouse
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204-2797
317-232-4567

Dear Governor Holcomb:

Today we are reaching out to you as your constituents and on behalf of thousands of
fellow Hoosiers. Indiana Unemployment Peer to Peer Information was initially created
on April 6, 2020 as a social media group to share information regarding unemployment
insurance between a small group of unemployed people in the state. Over the past
several months, our group has grown and is overseen by ten administrators/moderators
who all volunteer their time researching and providing accurate information on benefits,
laws, policies, and procedures to thousands of people needing help. We never intended
to be an advocacy group but, at this point, we feel we must try to give those without a
voice, and who are often left behind by the system, a fighting chance to be heard.

Although your press conference on Wednesday, August 26, was very positive, it left us
confused. You stated that the virus is prevalent enough to extend a mask mandate for
30 more days; but it apparently is not prevalent enough to extend the eviction or utility
disconnect moratorium the same 30 days. You spoke of the low unemployment rate of
7.8%, but never mentioned how the workforce has correspondingly been reduced as
well. We heard repeatedly how Indiana is trending in the right direction, but we have
seen a much different perspective of the current situation among the thousands of
members of our group.

You emphasized during your press conference that “We’re all in this together and we’ll
get through this together.” We have more than Seven Thousand Three Hundred (7,300)
current members and have had more than a Thousand (1,000) membership requests
this past month, more than 450 (Four Hundred and Fifty) this past week. Hoosiers

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continue to feel the effects of the mandatory state-wide shut down which you ordered
on March 16, 2020; yet feel abandoned by your optimism. Many industries have
recovered but the restaurant and hospitality industry has been, and remains, in peril.
Many small businesses will not reopen solely because of financial strain placed on them
during the shut-down. These are the lower-paying jobs and many of these people are
excluded from LWA because their WBA is less than $100. Many schools are closed for in-
person learning, which leaves parents without childcare and prevents them from
returning to the workforce. These are not isolated circumstances; we consistently see
posts of despair, hopelessness and suicide ideation written by your constituents. We
heard your voice this week and now we plead with you to hear ours; we come to you
today as a voice for those who don’t have one, those who are losing their homes, having
their utilities disconnected and some still awaiting unemployment benefits that were
filed months ago.

We understand during these unprecedented times, The Department of Workforce

Development was not equipped or prepared to handle the scale of unemployment
claims that were filed. DWD’s solution was to hire call center employees and sub-
contract Navient to answer the large amount of incoming calls and emails. These call
center employees/subcontractors are warm bodies who answer questions mostly off a
script and have no innate authority to change, fix or solve any issues. There are several
disconcerting problems within DWD and the call center that are very prevalent, and our
thousands of members deal with on a regular basis. Some of these include:
 The call center employees are inadequately trained and regularly give out
conflicting information which, in some circumstances, has and does lead
to a loss of benefits.
 The call center employees do not identify themselves with a name or
employee number to reference the information received from them.
o This leads to no accountability for false or misleading information
and no claimant recourse for the consequences of the information
received.
 Employers, usually given 10 days to dispute claims, have somehow
disputed them months later causing delayed denials of benefits and
substantial overpayments on claims.
 Claimants have had issues that remain unresolved for many months due to
circumstances as simple as answering a question on a voucher incorrectly.
 There are many systematic errors lately and confusion on a mass scale
(and conflicting information given) if issues and denials are actual issues
and denials or “glitches.”
o Many claimants are told to appeal the denial by one person at the
call canter and then are told not to appeal the decision by another
person.

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  This example of contradictory information can have
disastrous consequences for the claimant.

We were hoping that we can resolve these problems and find answers for the members
of our community, who are in such desperate situations, without filing a complaint with
the Attorney General. We hope that when you said “we’re all in this together,” you
included the Hoosiers who continue to struggle because of a global pandemic, who feel
alone and desperate right now and are in dire need of consistent, accurate information
and assistance.

Sincerely,

Indiana Unemployment Peer to Peer Information

IUPTPI@gmail.com

CONTACTS:
Mary Mccloskey, (502) 712-2050
Alisha Lambert, (260) 306-1128
Daryle Crawley, (317) 597-3723