"Welfare" system

I woke up this morning thinking about what exactly is the government doing to help those who need assistance.  We are supposed to be coming out of the "recession" but who is coming out of the recession?  There are still too many people who are unemployed yet they cannot get unemployment benefits.  Who is helping them?  I want to believe that our government will come to the rescue but how long will it take before that happens?  Just something off the top of my head...