Monique E

Child(ren): 2 children, youngest Caleb, age 1

Issues: Environment, Violence and Trauma, Family, Childhood, Breaking the Cycle

“We’re strong people--that’s what I want to teach my kids. Even though it’s hard out here for anybody; even though we go through every day facing problems, at the end of the day we still can sit down and have no worries for at least an hour or so; sit down and eat and joke at the table.”

Monique is twenty-six and the mother of two young children. Monique works full time, but at $9.00 an hour, she struggles to make ends meet and needs food stamps to supplement her income so that the children have enough to eat.

Family unity means everything to Monique. Monique recalls the time when she was a teenager and her mother had to gather up pennies to get her family on the bus that would take them to a shelter. They lived in a shelter for eight months, and Monique is determined to always have stable housing for her children.

Her mother taught her resilience and strength, traits she hopes to pass along to her own children. Monique values family unity and makes it a priority for her family to sit down and enjoy their meals together. Monique is now a source of support for her family members, and she is extremely proud that her brother is now attending college, something that she has never had the opportunity to do.

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Monique E

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