Pauline S

Child(ren): 3 children, youngest Jeremiah, 2 years and 10 months old

Issues: Food and Hunger, Housing, Health, Environment, Violence and Trauma, Childhood, Breaking the Cycle

If you ask me is this where you thought you was gonna be at twenty-nine years old? No. There’s no way we should go through the things we go through, whether it be the faults of our parents, the system, whatever… When you have somebody who's trying to better themselves there should be people with compassion to help them and see them succeed… There’s something that can be done. The resources are there, the people are there, the money is there. Why is it not being used for what it can be used for?

Pauline is 29 and the mother of three young children. She lives with the father of her children in a two-bedroom apartment and the landlord is constantly threatening them with eviction because they are behind on their rent. Pauline’s boyfriend is an immigrant who arrived in the United States undocumented, and because of his illegal status he struggles to find work that will pay him enough to feed his family. Pauline is unable to work because of her high-risk pregnancy and her struggles with mental illness.

Pauline grew up in various foster homes because her mom was accused of abusing her when she was a toddler. When Pauline was returned to her mother’s home as a teenager her stepfather began to rape her regularly until she ran away from home at the age of fifteen to escape him. Pauline never finished high school and lived on the streets and in shelters for several years, sometimes prostituting to survive. She is a recovering addict and because of her addiction she does not have legal custody of her two children. This means that her boyfriend is their sole guardian, and because he is illegal he has trouble getting cash assistance and Food Stamps for his children. Pauline has been sanctioned from welfare and the amount that they receive in Food Stamps doesn’t cover the price of food, so there are times when she and her children don’t have enough money for food and other necessities like diapers. Pauline feels like her family is on the edge of survival.

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Pauline S

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