• Name: Alicia Riley, 39
• Place: Auburn, Calif.

I was laid off from my teaching position at a college in late July. The next day, I applied for unemployment benefits.

I was approved to receive $316 a week for a year. I've received only one payment, and that was back in August.

I reformulated my budget structure to accommodate what I knew I could count on. I'm a single mother with four children, and I work very hard to make sure we don't live beyond our means.

As of today, I'm now beyond the point of being inconvenienced. I'm at the point of being desperate.

I can't put gas in the car if I do get an interview. The power bill is two weeks overdue. The rent is due on the first, so is the water and sewer. I haven't been able to pay for internet because that's a luxury.

I find it incredibly offensive that EDD won't respond to me. I start the phone calls at 8 in the morning and can never get through. They shut their phone lines down at noon.

NEXT: I made 417 calls before reaching a real person