Empowering Lives Through Anti-Poverty Advocacy
From Poverty Struggle to Anti-Poverty Advocacy: My Journey and My Mission
While I lived in poverty with no stove for eight months, I was grateful for the free meals my oldest son received at his school. They supplemented what little I could prepare at home for my kids. Food stamps only paid for items that were to be cooked. In the shabby apartment, all I had to prepare food with was a counter-top toaster oven and an old Sunbeam electric fry pan—until a burglar stole them one night as we slept upstairs. Just when I’d thought things couldn’t have gotten any worse!
Transition to Subsidized Housing: A Turning Point
The move into Section 8 housing helped restore some of my dignity. The moment I walked through the new-to-me, larger apartment, my head began to overflow with decorating ideas. There was central air conditioning and heat in the apartment and its kitchen had appliances. An onsite laundry facility made washing clothes a breeze.
But best of all, the nicer place had put an end to me having to fork over my entire $152-a-month welfare check for that miserable $170-a-month apartment. It was a welcome relief to use that check to buy the boys’ clothes, shoes, toys, haircuts, new mattresses, and other necessities. Doing so reassured me that I could properly provide for them. Our finances, although still meager, had at least stabilized.
Educational Pursuits: From Enrollment to Success
After having our dire need for decent housing resolved, and at no cost, I began the enrollment process for college. To be eligible for free subsidized child care each semester, all I had to do was show proof of full-time registration at the college. Knowing my toddler was being adequately taken care of enabled me to easily focus on my studies.
Financial aid grants like BEOG, SEOG and Pell paid for tuition and textbooks. One semester, I received a “Best of 4.0” scholarship. Together, all of these forms of assistance made possible my success at school and eventual return to independence. I had not only run the race, but also broke the tape at the finish line of destitution.
Commitment to Advocacy: Bridging Personal Experience and Community Impact
That is why I do the work I do—advocating for the preservation and strengthening of our nation’s anti-poverty programs. As someone who once benefited from them, it’s now my mission to help ensure those programs remain available to others.
My welfare passage, a challenging journey, laid the foundation for my commitment to advocating for our nation’s safety net programs. I know firsthand the transformative difference they make in people’s lives. My devotion to this work is also what led me to write, A Day at the Fare: One Women’s Passage, a memoir sharing the story of my lived experience of poverty.
Pssst… Planning a Poverty Simulation Program?
Additionally, as a skilled speaker and distinguished alumna of The Moth, I adapt material from A Day at the Fare and expertly craft it into dynamic storytelling performances. These presentations serve as powerful additions to poverty simulation programs. They amplify their impact and foster deeper understanding of the realities they portray.
The possibilities are endless! Contact me today to learn how I can supercharge your poverty simulation program. It will leave a lasting impression on your audience. The possibilities are endless!