Making ends meet
“Peyton”
Alamance County, NC. Aid recipient.
Illness Makes Finding Work Hard
So I got laid off about four years ago, maybe five. Anyway, so I went back to school, took up appliance repairing, GTCC [Guilford Technical Community College], but as soon as I finished the program, which is about a year, I had a stroke. So it hinders my employability now because no one wants to hire a person who had a stroke Continue reading
Tim Sutton
Alamance County Commissioner Tim Sutton.
Eligibility
My wife and I had two boys and she had a daughter, my step-daughter. My wife did not work ever until I lost a job, the job at the bank. I wanted her home with the kids and we sacrificed a lot of our material gains, but as a family, we were a better family unit. My mother never worked. I never knew my mother to have a job. And years ago, the wives and the mothers were home. Every mother in my neighborhood when I was a kid in Virginia and Alabama was home. Nobody worked.
My wife and I, we qualified for reduced lunches at our kids’ schools, and I was shocked that I did… Continue reading
Cola
“Making the Safety Net More Visible in Philadelphia,” by Jon Hurdel. New York Times, Aug. 30, 2013. Photo by Mark Makela/New York Times. Cola Dockery, 34, was released from prison in February after serving six months for burglary and armed robbery, … Continue reading
Jeremy Toler
“The Undeserving Poor,” by Kristina Cooke, David Rohde, and Ryan McNeill. The Atlantic. Dec. 20, 2012. After serving in the army reserves and graduating from Ball State University with an associate’s degree, Toler got a job processing claims in a child-care program … Continue reading
Shaun Case
“The Undeserving Poor,” by Kristina Cooke, David Rohde, and Ryan McNeill. The Atlantic. Dec. 20, 2012. The 34-year-old Indiana native has learning disabilities and endured a childhood of abuse. Relatives say he was thrown through a plate-glass widow by his grandmother … Continue reading
ReShaun Lawrence
“NC Officials Work to End Food Aid Delays Caused by New Benefits System,” by Annalise Frank and Laura Finaldi. News and Observer, August 9, 2013. Photo by Al Drago/News and Observer. The 29-year-old mother of three has been on food … Continue reading
Tiffany
Alamance County, NC. Aid recipient.
Needing Some Help
I was in Maryland when I was pregnant with Jayden. And then, I received the cash when I was pregnant with Jayden because I needed to be able to get some stuff for my baby when he was born. But, after a while… Continue reading
Pat
Alamance County, NC. Aid recipient.
Raising Friends’ Kids.
I’ve been here for thirty years. And my daughter had a job and moved down here. And then, I met her [indicating 14-year-old Desmen, whom she is raising] dad. And they had problems at home, so she asked could she stay with me; and she’s been with me for three years. And so… Continue reading