

Fighting Poverty with Code - dolftax
https://medium.com/the-backer-army/fighting-poverty-with-code-d1ed3ebd982d

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MichaelCrawford
I don't know Javascript but I'm learning it on my own, by reading books and
writing code.

However I know a whole bunch of other languages, tools and platforms.

I have a Physics degree.

But I cannot get a job because I am 51 years old - my grey hair is plainly
apparent - and because I am quite open about being mentally ill.

The reason I went public with my illness was to benefit other mentally ill
people.

In the US, it it flatly illegal to discriminate for reasons of employment
against the mentally ill, or those who are 40 years of age or older.

A close friend advised me to remove the links to my essays about my condition
from my website. No doubt it would be easier to find a job if I did; but the
reason I leave those links there is that I feel it is more important that
others read my writing than that I get a job:

[http://www.warplife.com/mdc/books/schizoaffective-
disorder/](http://www.warplife.com/mdc/books/schizoaffective-disorder/)

Even so, it sucks to be poor.

It is also a tremendous waste of my expertise that I am not permitted to
contribute. There is so much that I could teach the young people, that I am
eager to teach, were I only to get a job offer.

Michael David Crawford, Senior Software Engineer
[http://www.warplife.com/mdc/resume/](http://www.warplife.com/mdc/resume/)

