A 44 year-old mother of a 14 year-old son working part-time as a home health aide.

1. HOUSEHOLD SUPPORT

Interviewer: How do you maintain your household on a day to day basis?

Author: What do you mean by that?

Interviewer: How do you have money to pay your bills, supervise your kids—?

Author: I didn’t have none before I started this little old job because welfare food stamps ain’t about nothing. It’s a help, but you can’t make it off that.

Interviewer: So you get food stamps and welfare. Do you get any assistance paying your house note?

Author: Rent. No.

Interviewer: How much time do you have to supervise your child?

Author: When he get home from school.

Interviewer: Do you have any resources in helping to parent your child? Does he have childcare?

Author: No.

Interviewer: Do you receive any help from outside your family circle or friends?

Author: No.

Interviewer: Compared to 2 years ago, supporting my household today is much harder, harder, unchanged, easier or much easier?

Author: Unchanged.

Compared to two years ago, supporting my household today is unchanged.

Interviewer: How is your child doing in terms of his physical health?

Author: Christopher does good except headaches.

Interviewer: Any other problems he’s had?

Author: No.

Interviewer: What about his safety? Do you worry about him being safe?

Author: If he get out and get in the street, yeah.

Interviewer: What about school? Is it safe?

Author: Washington? Pretty much.

Interviewer: How about his school performance? His grades?

Author: Not to good.

Interviewer: What about his behavior at school? Any problems?

Author: Yeah.

Interviewer: Like what?

Author: He got suspended for not wearing a uniform. It has been a while. I done forgot. He been suspended twice, but he done got much better.

Interviewer: Compared to two years ago, the general well-being of my child is much worse, worse, unchanged, better or much better? Compared to when he was 12?

Author: Better.

Compared to two years ago, the general well-being of my child is better.

Interviewer: Good. How well is your household meeting its basic needs like food?

Author: I have food pretty much. Most of the time because I get food stamps.

Interviewer: Food is not a problem then. How about clothing for you and your son?

Author: That can be a problem sometimes.

Interviewer: Are you getting clothes anywhere?

Author: No.

Interviewer: What about your housing?

Author: I have trouble paying my rent.

Interviewer: Do you think your rent is too high?

Author: [no response]

Interviewer: What about your medical care?

Author: No medical care. I been sick, I have epileptic seizures.

Interviewer: Is your medical care good or bad? Do you go to a neurologist?

Author: Yeah.

Interviewer: Do you like him or her?

Author: No.

Interviewer: Your medical care could improve?

Author: It could improve a lot. It don’t look like it’s doing no good for me. I have twice a month. That’s too regular, don’t you think so?

Interviewer: I don’t know that much about epilepsy?

Author: Okay.

Interviewer: Are you on medicine for it? And it doesn’t help?

Author: No.

Interviewer: Was it phenabarbitol?

Author: No.

Interviewer: I just got married actually.

Author: Congratulations.

Interviewer: Thank you. What about education for your son? Do you have trouble getting him to school or getting him help if he needs it?

Author: No.

Interviewer: What about things that affect your family’s ability to meet your basic needs? Do you have earned income credit?

Author: No.

Interviewer: But you get welfare?

Author: I am on welfare and I get food stamps.

Interviewer: SSI?

Author: (laughs) No, I wish I was.

Interviewer: Does anyone else help you out with food or medical care?

Author: No.

Interviewer: What are some of the things that interfere with you making ends meet each month?

Author: Such as?

Interviewer: Your house isn’t well insulated which makes your utility bill high or your car breaks down a lot or—?

Author: Our utility bills do be high, but our rent is nice. Very nice. I don’t pay but $160.00 here.

Interviewer: That’s pretty good.

Author: Very good.

Interviewer: Utilities are high, but other than that, interfering with making ends meet is just that you don’t make that much money.

Author: I don’t make that much money.

Interviewer: What about child support? Do you get any of that?

Author: No.

Interviewer: So that interferes that his father is absent. Compared to two years ago, my family’s ability to meet its basic needs is much worse, worse, unchanged, better or much better?

Author: Better.

Compared to two years ago, my family's ability to meet its basic needs is better.

Interviewer: How well is your housing meeting your family’s needs?

Author: Such as?

Interviewer: Is it big enough?

Author: For me and him, yeah.

Interviewer: Good. So the size fits your family. How about the physical condition of it?

Author: It looks fine.

Interviewer: Are you satisfied with it?

Author: Yeah.

Interviewer: The safety of the neighborhood?

Author: I love it. I was born and raised out here.

Interviewer: Okay, and how convenient is this location for you getting to work?

Author: Lovely.

Interviewer: So that’s close by?

Author: The job is not close by, but you know, for me to get there it is convenient for me to get here by living out here.

Interviewer: What about getting him to school? Is that convenient?

Author: Yeah. He rides the bus.

Interviewer: Okay. What about for your relatives to visit. Are you near people?

Author: (Affirmative grunt.) I have sisters out here. Yeah. And my father.

Interviewer: Your father?

Author: (Affirmative grunts.)

Interviewer: Okay. Your father, sister. Good. So, compared to two years ago, my housing is much worse, worse, the same, better or much better?

Author: The same.

Interviewer: Have you been here for two years?

Author: I have been here 10 year(s).

Compared to two years ago, my housing is unchanged.

Interviewer: Alright. This is a little more personal, but then again it is confidential. What feelings have you been experiencing the most lately? Happy, sad, mad—?

Author: Happy. I am making me a little money now.

Interviewer: How do these happy feelings influence your work?

Author: Such as?

Interviewer: Does it make it easier to work or harder to work?

Author: Easy.

Interviewer: How might these happy feelings influence the way you are raising your son?

Author: Such as? Explain.

Interviewer: This is confusing for me. Meaning when you are happy, is it easier for you to parent him and deal with the things that he has?

Author: Yes.

Interviewer: It says "have you sought any help for these feelings," but for "happy" you wouldn’t seek help. Compared to two years ago, my emotional well-being (how you feel) is much worse, worse, unchanged, better or much better.

Author: Better.

Compared to two years ago, my emotional well-being is better.

Interviewer: Tell me about your current job.

Author: I get there. I sit down. I have a talk with her. I see if she is clean. I feed her. I give her medication. I give her a bath. That’s it. I make sure she don’t fall around because she is so weak, you know, by being on that oxygen. She have to walk on a walker, too.

Interviewer: Where is this located?

Author: Bartlett.

Interviewer: Did you get it through an agency, or how did you get the job?

Author: From a friend of mine. A girl I work with about seven years ago at a warehouse.

Interviewer: Do you like it?

Author: (Affirmative grunt.)

Interviewer: What do you think about the pay, benefits and hours of this job?

Author: I don’t have no benefits. I just have pay. I get paid $60.00 a day.

Interviewer: Are you happy with that?

Author: Yeah because I work five days and be off five days. It’s part time.

Interviewer: How long do you go each day when you go?

Author: I be there 24 hours.

Interviewer: So you stay with her for 5 days and then you come—. Well, that is full-time. Okay. So are you okay with the hours?

Author: (Affirmative noise.)

Interviewer: Does it have any training or advancement opportunity?

Author: No.

Interviewer: Compared to two years ago, the wages and benefits of this job I have now are much worse, worse, unchanged, better or much better?

Author: Better.

Compared to two years ago, the wages and benefits of the job I have now are better.

Interviewer: What, if anything, has changed for you as a result of your involvement with the family services counseling program? Such as the way you run your household? Has family services helped you at all?

Author: No.

Interviewer: It hasn’t helped you at all?

Author: No.

Interviewer: It hasn’t helped you with your child’s behavior?

Author: No.

Interviewer: What about the way you handle your basic needs?

Author: No.

Interviewer: Your housing situation?

Author: Such as?

Interviewer: Well, sometimes we get houses for people, but you’ve been here.

Author: No I got a house.

Interviewer: How about the way you feel and how you are doing emotionally?

Author: I am doing pretty good. I wish I would stop having seizures. Other than that, I do pretty good. Uh-huh.

Interviewer: So, Family Service Counseling did not help you with your job situation?

Author: No. They wanted me to go to school, but I don’t want to go to school. I wasn’t going to get paid for going to school. I wanted a job.

Interviewer: I can’t say because I haven’t been in your shoes.

Author: Who is going to get up early every morning and go to school in the cold and then not getting nothing for it, you know.

Interviewer: I see what you are saying.

Author: I got a house. I got to pay rent, utilities, telephone. Take care of my baby.

8. BASIC FACTS [summary of basic facts compiled from unpublished text]

Your community or neighborhood of residence: Dudley

Gender: Female

Last year of school completed: 10th grade

GED: No

Race: Black

Ethnicity:

Does your partner, spouse or co-parent live with you? No

Do you currently receive any cash public assistance? Yes