Tara

And unfortunately she arrived to learn that there were still some things that had to be addressed prior to her being able to sign the paperwork and the lease.  When she reminded the house worker that she had nowhere to live as of Friday, they handed her a list of local shelters and told her they would work on her case.  I looked into her dejected face and asked her what she was going to do.  She said, “I’m just gonna stay where I am until they evict me.  The electric will be turned off on Friday so I’ll have to deal with the dark.  I can’t afford a storage unit for my things.”

Tara* has been working on housing for the last two months and makes almost daily calls to make sure she is doing anything she needs to do to assure she has a safe and sanitary place to live.  She works as a housekeeper here in Baltimore at the Ulman House.  Those three hours she lost at the local housing authority cost her three hours of wages and cost her an additional two bus fares.  She hasn’t been sleeping well because her current apartment is infested with roaches and they crawl all over her at night waking her up.  She has one nine year old child at home—her others are grown and gone and have children of their own.

Last week the school contacted Tara to ask her if things are okay at home because they are seeing changes in her daughter.  Tara has to be careful what she says because if the school learns she is not providing “adequate” housing for her girl, they will turn her in to child protective services as required by the laws here.

Tara’s challenges started when she left her young daughter’s abusive father in search of a better life for both of them.  She tells me she feels as if everything conspires against her and it’s a struggle to stay in faith that things will work out.  Her spirit is peaceful and lovely and she just wants to find a new path.  Every evening she is greeted by questions from her daughter, “Mommy, how did it go today?  Do we have a place to live yet?”

While Tara and her life experience are here in Baltimore, she is an example of what is happening all around us in Grant County and across the entire nation.  She is the working poor.  She’s not lazy.  She’s exhausted.  She’s poorly nourished.  She has more hurdles than most of us can imagine.  And yet she soldiers on for herself and her young child.  We can no longer ignore that our systems and processes are part of the problem.  As we check all the boxes to remain in compliance with all the programs and services, human resources requirements, employer related requirements, etc. that make us feel like we are doing a good job, a mother and child sleep in the dark in a roach infested apartment.

This is inequitable and wrong.

It’s time for a radical shift in how we do things in Grant County and beyond.  If we are not empowering individuals in our communities then why are we here?  What good are we doing?  It’s time for ALL of us to get our hands dirty.  It’s time to stop making assumptions and start asking questions—what happened to you that led you to this place? And what would be the most helpful to YOU right now?

My challenge, as you make plans and set intentions for yourself and your organizations in 2020, is to look at how YOU may be contributing to the challenges of our working poor community members.  Too much red tape in service offerings disguised as “compliance?”  Too much red tape in hiring?  Lack of on the job training to assist good employees in getting promotional opportunities?  Lack of diversity of cultures and thoughts in your organization and your personal networks?  Employment practices that set up the working poor for failure?  I believe WE can catalyze radical change in Grant County that moves our individuals and families from struggling to THRIVING.  It starts with each of us.  Let’s THRIVE together.