Nadja B

Nadja is twenty and the mother of two daughters, aged three and four. Nadja lived in a homeless shelter for teens a few years ago with her older daughter, and through the shelter she was able to get the subsidized housing that she lives in now. Nadja finished high school and was sent to phlebotomy training through a Welfare to Work program, and she is frustrated by the requirements of the Welfare to Work system. After receiving their phlebotomy training, Nadja and her classmates are required to return to the school four days a week to job search—which amounts to time in front of the computer without any guidance.  Nadja explains that they go to the school in order to continue receiving their welfare checks, but that the attendance requirement actually hinders their job searches because it prevents them from applying at places in person.