Many of the customers are low-income to dirt poor. They understandably have defense mechanisms to help them cope, but they are also human beings. I am sure many of them are treated poorly at banks, stores, or government agencies. One woman clearly had never had anyone treat her with respect or dignity before. After the return was completed and I explained various tax terms (standard deduction, exemption and EITC), she was completely floored that someone would take that kind of time and energy for her. Quite out of the blue, she asked if she could hug me. It was the best "payment" I have ever received. Both of us had tears in our eyes and we tacitly promised to do this again next year.
I had one Mexican man with a very limited income, living far from his family, get an $800 refund. He almost burst into tears and joyously said to me in Spanish, "Ahora puedo visitar a mi nieto!" (Now I can go visit my grandson.)
A lady whose husband had just left her went back to school last year to get her degree since she had been a housewife and needed to support herself and her two children. She was behind in her bills and had a huge debt from paying tuition on her credit card. Her EITC and federal refund paid off a large chunk of her tuition and her rent for the month.
When I moved to Seattle last year, I looked at an apartment building where the apartment manager was moving very slowly. He told me he was a vet and that he was dying of cancer. It made me really sad because he was sick and alone and I was entirely unable to help him. Well I saw him again because he came in to the downtown tax site to see if he was eligible for the stimulus package. Not only was he eligible, he had been paid to be the building manager for the past three years and was eligible for the EIC but hadn't filed taxes. We filed his taxes for the past three years and got him almost $2,000 in refunds. I didn't tell him we had met before but felt that this program has given me the skills to help individuals whose lives I would otherwise never affect.
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