Single Parenting
“Serena”
Alamance County, NC, aid provider and former aid recipient.
Looking for Work
Before I got this job I was actually living in Roxboro. I was going to school. I have three daughters of my own, and so we were all getting Medicaid. There was no child support coming in from my ex-husband… Continue reading
“Randall”
Alamance County. Aid recipient.
Difficulty Getting Aid
Oh yeah. I’ve had personal experience from my mother. Yeah, I mean she worked all her life too, and one time she lost her job and had to have her gall bladder surgery, so you know she wasn’t working. She was a single parent, two kids, so she went and applied just to pay the hospital bill. Continue reading
Jackie
Alamance County. Aid recipient.
Left Alone to Raise a Family
I’ve had three boys, and I had a daughter, she died when she was two and a half months old After she was gone, I went ballistic [laughs], yeah. I had a nervous breakdown, I got pregnant, married, and I didn’t love the man I was married too. Didn’t love nothing. I went to work every day, came home, but I had an alcoholic and a drug addict for a husband. Continue reading
Christine
Alamance County. Aid recipient.
Caring for Sick Parents
I was enrolled at GTCC [Guilford Technical College]. I was living in a family home with my parents taking care of them. My father got really bad. He started having seizures, which they thought were strokes. Well, things started going south at that point Continue reading
Tracy S.
Alamance County, NC, aid provider and former recipient.
The Stigma of Temporary Aid
My ex-husband and I owned a restaurant and the restaurant, it started not going very well. And so he actually started having a drinking problem. So at that point, I decided to move out. So my son, who was three or four at the time, we moved into an apartment… Continue reading
Brandi Burnau
“The Undeserving Poor,” by Kristina Cooke, David Rohde, and Ryan McNeill. The Atlantic. Dec. 20, 2012. Photo by Aaron P. Bernstein/Reuters. Brandi said she has been struggling on her own since she aged to of the foster-care system four years ago. Single and … 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