Christina K

Child(ren): 2 boys

Issues: Housing, Health, Environment, Family, Childhood

With Welfare now, what we get nowadays, it’s enough to live off of but it’s not enough to do anything to make our environment safer for our children... So the jobs that I need or that I want that I’m qualified for I can’t get because I need an education. And I tell [Welfare] that and it’s like, well, that’s just too bad, basically, you have to get a job. I need an education… But I’m held back, I’m at a standstill."

See Christina featured in The Washington Post and a slide show.

See Christina in the Share Our Strength blog.

Christina is the twenty-five year old mother of two boys. Christina dropped out of high school when she was seventeen because she needed to support herself, having been moved around to different families in the foster system as a child. She has been placed in different GED programs through the Welfare office, but the classes didn’t teach enough for her to pass the exam. Christina is frustrated about the limited pool of jobs available to her because she lacks formal education, and this frustration is compounded by the fact that the welfare office is not helping her realize her goal of a college education.

Christina lives with the father of her two children in the house that he grew up in. His parents signed the deed over to them, and while they are grateful that they are able to live in the house rent-free, they know that the neighborhood is not a good place to raise children. The house is also in need of major repairs, but they are unable to afford to fix up the house because their income never covers more than the basic necessities.

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Christina K

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