Crowhugger, that's a very succinct and accurate summation of my situation.

See, the problem here is that there's almost always a highly disproportionate value placed on ANYTHING that might suggest to the Social Services Board that their assistance is not really necessary in a supplicant's case.

They'd rather tell me that my $125 guitar is an impediment to their helping me, because, after all, if I can afford a guitar that cost $125, then I must not need that extra $125 a month in food stamps. Their policies allow them to assume that whatever assets we have must have been bought new, or that we must have some other channel through which we are able to get such nice things. They inform us that if we have any resources for these "luxuries", then we must not need their assistance.

I'm working on figuring out how to maximize exposure for my guitar and harmonica teaching, and I am going to hit some familiar street-corners to do some busking soon, when the weather cooperates.

Thanks, all, again, for the encouragement and advice.