Replies to '12/21 One Paycheck Away'

It isn't  easy living paycheck to paycheck. I am a single mom. Everytime I have gone to work for any length of time my child suffers. Not just from the lack of me being there- but from the lack of everything. Society in general looks down on people on welfare but maybe they should readjust their thinking. I am on welfare right now because if I work I will lose me and my child's healthcare (which isn't good to begin with), I will lose my housing because I get told that anything over 6.75 an hour is making too much money. When I was working I had to live with my parents because even with fulltime hours I was only making 828.00 dollars a month- 600.00 a month is what I had to pay so i could work. You do the math- 228.00 left over to try and feed, clothe, house and paybills is laughable- And i was told I was making too much money for help with anything. I would love to be working for a paycheck- I hate welfare and am depressed over being on it- but at this point it is the only way I can afford to be home with my child who has emotional disabilities- if I go to work right now me and my child will end up homeless and without insurance. I am beginning to detest people that are ignorant as to what it is like to try and survive working paycheck to paycheck- I am also irate with the views of people who say welfare mothers just need to get a job. If I could literally afford to work and be able to be there for my child then great- but that is not the reality for many- not just single moms but the population of the working class poor in general. When I have to choose between working or my child- i will choose my child. When my child was a baby I worked sometimes 70-90 hours a week just so I could have enough money to pay all my bills on top of a surgery my daughter needed that medicaid would not pay for- I had no insurance because dhs said I was making too much money at 5.15 an hour to get any help. This increased my childI's problems by me not being there- I am the only parent she has- her father is extremely violent and has injured her during supervised visit- She has postraumatic stress and abandonment issues- when I work my daughter regresses badly because I end up having to work sometimes 15-22 hours a day if I want to be able to pay the bills and provide food- not to mention counseling fees because my child ends up feeling abandoned by mommy because mommy is at work. If this government really wants people to be able to work and be independant than changes need to be made. Employers should respect the fact that parents first job is to their kids not their boss- One of my bosses actually expected me to leave my child when she was three home alone because the babysitter did not show up on time- he made it clear that if I did not do whatever I was fired. At that point I had not yet missed anyttime from work, I worked 44 hours in just two days, I had not had a day off whatsoever in three months at that point, so why the big deal? I ask if I was at work 22 hours- a day for two days a week then 12 hurs for three then 8 for 2 how was I being a mother too my child? My babysitter was raising her and I was burning myself out trying to provide.

I do not feel that the public in general understands what that does to our children when we expect the parents to work crazy hours just so we can have one paycheck to pay the sitter and one to pay bills. Parents that live together and both work suffer the same things- one will work one shift and the other another, then they are both stressed and tired trying to care for their kids or even themselves. An example of  another myth I have seen is that homeless people are lazy bums- wrong! I might not be totally correct on the stats but for example- 75% of the homeless population in newyork work 40 hours a week and have kids. something is really wrong in this country when working people are homeless, or when parents like me fear going to work for min. wage because it could mean loss of insurance and housing. I also challenge the public to talk to mothers and families on welfare- ask them if it were affordable for childcare and no loss of insurance would happen if they could go back to work - would they? I know I would and technically I do work- I volunteer and put in the hours I WOULD AT A REGULAR DAYTIME JOB- i

just don't lose my insurance or subsidy housing. I am also a children's minister at my church, I do not just sit and collect a check- I was asked why don't i just ask for pay- well teacher's aids only get minimum wage- but the state says that is too much money for subsidy and health insurance - even though it does not leave enoughmoney for food.