This aid provided roughly $200 a month in food stamps and
$500 a month in cash aid. Things were
tight, but with this money and Granny’s help, we were able to get by while mom
returned to school. In a three year period of time she was able to earn associate’s
degrees in General ED and Criminal Justice along with three other degrees that,
together, resulted in her ability to get a job in County Corrections that paid
a very good salary and had great benefits.
Life was not easy
during those years that our family required assistance. As a teenager, it was embarrassing to go to
the store when Mom would be buying groceries with food stamps. Being in that very self centered time of
life, I used to bail on my mom when she would get to the check stand. I made no effort to conceal my embarrassment
from her. She never made me feel bad for
taking off to wait in the car while she braved the looks of judgment and pity
that so often greeted her as she checked out.
She had to rest in the knowledge that she was doing her best for her
children and not allow herself to worry if anyone else understood. You can’t explain to every person who hasn’t
walked in your shoes, the things that led you to where you are on any given
day.
While my close friends understood our family situation, I
tried desperately to keep it a secret from the other kids at school. There was a lot of stigma that went with
being on “Welfare,” and I was the first to internalize it and give power to the
deep lack of understanding many have regarding whom it is that receives
“Welfare” and how such assistance ultimately benefits society. Most people don’t understand that “Welfare”
is for children, it is not for parents. It
simply has to come through the parents because they are the ones charged with
taking care of the kids. The truth is I
had no understanding of it at the time myself.
I just knew that it was really embarrassing but, it kept me from being
hungry.
Looking back I regret my response and realize that, rather
than feeling embarrassed, I should have felt great pride and gratitude in and for my mom as well as my fellow countrymen and women. My mom because she understood
that in order to become independent, she had to allow herself to be dependent
for a while and was brave enough to do so. And my fellow
countrymen and women who believed
that, as a child, I was valuable enough to invest in and that by so doing,
allowed me to progress in such a manner as to have the strength and ability to
one day make something of myself.
As a result of that aid as well as the financial aid I received in
College, I was able to follow my mother’s excellent example and go on to
college to earn my bachelor’s degree, as well as my master’s degree in,
you guessed it, Social Welfare. Now, I
am able to do my part to help families who are in need as mine once was. I have worked with and been mostly helpful to
hundreds of children and families during my career. Many of those children will now have a better
chance of successfully meeting the challenges that life puts in front of them
in order to become happy and productive citizens themselves. It is amazing what $200 in food vouchers and
$500 in monetary support can pay for over time.
It’s exponential I would say.
What if we didn’t wait for things to trickle down? What if we also allowed them to spring from
below to provide hope, refreshment and renewal in this ever struggling world?
