I read a story several days ago about a young, single mom
who let her daughter play in the park while she worked her shift at McDonald’s.
Not having any family in the area, she would at times allow her to sit at her
job but knew that couldn’t be a long-term solution. So, when her daughter begged her to play in the
park, the 19-year-old mother, with few options, reluctantly agreed.
I also read a story about a woman who left her two kids in the car while she went on a job interview. Practically homeless, she had very few options and couldn't find a sitter.
In both cases, the mothers were arrested and their children
stripped from them … gee, that was real helpful.
Sometimes I wonder about the country I live in. McDonald’s fired the 19-year-old mother, (although I
understand she did get her daughter back) and the other mom got a
ridiculous sentence that was overturned after public outcry. Both are working
with lawyers who have been kind enough to take their cases pro bono.
Reading stories like this, I am convinced the system is
rigged to keep you down. Did they make the smartest choices, of course not, but clearly these two women didn’t need to be arrested and have their
children traumatized. What they needed was a little help and compassion. I know
many who are on public assistance – working for minimum wage barely making it.
They get about $300-$500 in food stamps depending on the number of children they
have, their rent is next to nothing on Section 8, and they get Medicaid. So
they find a job making say, $1.50 more an hour - so they go from making about
$7.50 an hour to $9.00 an hour. Now, their food stamps are cut in half, their
rent goes up 25% and they lose their Medicaid. Really?! Then what do they do -
quit the job and go back to staying at home or a they get another job making
little to nothing (not that $9.00 is a lot of money). And the vicious cycle continues.
I get that the more you make, the less you should need in
terms of assistance, but good grief, give them a chance to get settled, to save
a little, to get a raise or two under their belt. I can even see requiring them to work with
someone to help them budget and plan for the day they won’t need assistance
anymore. How great it would have been if the system had a place these two moms could have turned to for help with child care, without charging them. What a concept!
No one can deny that the cost of living is pretty steep no
matter where you live. And I know that there are those who take advantage of
the system. But there has to be a way not to pull up the flowers with the weeds
– that is, look at every case individually instead of painting everyone on
assistance with the same broad brush and treating each case the same.
In many ways, I think this country has lost its compassion, and a place
without compassion is a scary place to be.
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