A 25 year-old mother going to school and raising her three children ages 7, 5 and 1.

Interviewer: How do you maintain your household on a day-to-day basis? Describe the resources you use to make the household run and how you supervise the children, including any assistance from outside your circle of family and friends.

Author: Um, God I don’t know, it is a daily routine that I go through: get up, go to school, pick my daughter up at 1:00 from school, come home, wait on Joseph to get home. Um, after that, my sister-in-law, she cooks dinner while I am gone; she uh takes care of them while I am gone to take my mom home. And then, um, I come back home and start baths and all that. So I maintain it all really. My sister-in-law helps out daily, 'cause she rides to school with me.

Interviewer: Okay, what types of resources you use in running the household (e.g., for putting food on the table, paying bills, and paying rent)?

Author: Um, that is my AFDC [Aid to Families with Dependent Children] check or my Families First check, and I get child support too, every two weeks.

Interviewer: Okay, how much time you have to supervise your child/children?

Author: Um, gosh 1:00 till they go to bed so I guess which is about eight, so I guess about eight hours.

Interviewer: Other resources that help in parenting your child/children?

Author: Uh um. I guess my Mom, she helps out with them. They mind her, there is no problem between them two and her, she does real good with them.

Interviewer: Assistance you receive from outside your circle of family or friends (e.g., subsidized child care or housing subsidy)?

Author: Um, I get, uh, my KCDC [Knoxville's Community Development Corporation] for housing.

Interviewer: Okay, um, first I am going to read this: Consider the following question below and answer using the letter that best corresponds to your situation.

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

Interviewer: How are your children doing in terms of their physical health, their safety, and their academics and behavior in school (or behavior in day care)?

Author: Their doing, um, well their health has always been good. My son has a little bit of trouble paying attention in school but other that that everything is just fine.

Interviewer: Your child’s/children’s physical health? Your child/children’s safety?

Author: All that is fine.

Interviewer: Your child’s/children’s academic performance in school?

Author: As to what?

Interviewer: 'A’s', 'B’s'—

Author: Oh yeah, they, both of them do excellent in school.

Interviewer: Your child’s/children’s behavior in school, or in day care?

Author: My son has a problem with behavior. He, his teacher thinks that he has ADD but she is working with him and she says that if she can’ t get it under control it’s gonna have to be looked at. Other than that, everything else is fine with him. He just has a problem paying attention and following direction the first time.

Compared to two years ago, the general well-being of my children is much worse and better.

Interviewer: How well your family is meeting its basic needs (e.g., food, clothing, housing, medical care, education)?

Interviewer: We have a problem with clothing from time to time, and getting my bills paid depending on what they are by each month it is hard to pay my bills, with buying diapers and wipes because it is a must have and I try to buy them by the month, when I get my check but sometimes it is hard to do that. Sometimes she used more diaper than usual. It, it’s just difficult that. Um I don’t know.

Interviewer: So—

Author: Food, no we don’t have a problem with food, maybe the last week, which is the week before I get my food stamps, we might have a little trouble, but it is not nothing that we can’t handle because if we don’t have anything my Mom goes and gets it, so like I say, it’s really not a problem. Problem mostly is making sure that all my bills are paid. That is the most problem that I have.

Interviewer: Okay. Things that help your family meet its basic needs?

Author: Hum, I don’t know, usually if I need something I can go to my Mom and get it so.

Interviewer: Okay.

Author: Not always good though because if she misses any work which is not all the time but for the holidays and snow days she misses work and I needs something then her check’s gonna be short so it will be hard for me to get it. So, but she’s my second resource. That I always go to. I always call my Mom if I need anything.

Interviewer: Okay. Things that interfere with making ends meet?

Author: Like?

Interviewer: Um does anything interfere, uh, other people in your community, services provided?

Author: Um not really go to any other services or anything like that I just go to my Mom.

Interviewer: Okay. So like as far as Families First, anything with Families First actually interfere?

Author: No, if it weren’t for that Families First check, 'cause I’ve been getting Families First checks for a couple years now and when Mike says he wasn’t paying child support I depended on that check because it was the only thing that I was getting. And the only reason that I haven’t cut it off now is because I don’t know if he is going to keep his job now and I am afraid if I cut my check off he will quit paying [and] now I would be without nothing. Just as soon as I do that, [that] is what is going to happen. Then we will be without anything.

Interviewer: Okay. Consider the following question and answer using the letter that best corresponds to your situation.

Author: I’d have to say much worse because two years ago the babies' Daddy, when he was at home, I didn’t have to want for anything. So it is much worse now that he is not around.

Interviewer: Okay.

Compared to two years ago, my family’s ability to meet its basic needs is [much] worse.

Interviewer: How well is your housing meeting your family’s needs? the safety of the neighborhood, and how convenient it is for work, school, and childcare and for visiting relatives.

Author: Compared to a month ago, it is much better. I was in a two-bedroom with all four of us, now I am in a three-bedroom so we have got a lot more room now.

Interviewer: Describe how well it fits the size of your family.

Author: It fits us pretty well, the living room is not all that big but we’ve got a washer and dryer now and everything is much bigger.

Interviewer: Describe its physical condition of the housing?

Author: It’s all right.

Interviewer: What about the safety of the neighborhood?

Author: Um, where I live is right across from the office so I don’t hear nothing but I have been told that there are things that go on in other parts of it, but I don’t know I don’t go over there. I stay to myself, so I’d say it’s pretty safe where I am.

Interviewer: And how convenient it is for work, school, and childcare and for visiting relatives.

Author: Um, well school. I go to school in South Knoxville and I live in North Knoxville, which that is no problem because I go to South Knoxville to pick my Mom up so that is no problem.

Interviewer: What about the children’s school?

Author: The school is not even a block. It’s convenient right there.

Interviewer: Okay, childcare?

Author: Childcare. I don’t use childcare, the only childcare I use is when my baby and I go to school [my baby] goes with me, it is on site.

Interviewer: What about when relatives come to visit?

Author: Thank God I don’t have that many. When they do it’s not a problem. They, my mom lives in West Knoxville which is not that far. It is kinds convenient because where I live [I] am kind of in the middle of everything.

Interviewer: Okay. Consider the following question and answer using the letter that best corresponds to your situation.

  Interviewer: You said worst or much worst which is it?

Author: Yes, worst because I had a voucher two years ago. I had a house and was renting from an lawyer and he is the biggest butt you have ever seen. He is charging me like $1900.00 worth of damage and it wasn’t me it was his maintained man. When they would come out to fix something, they would damage something and I would get blamed for it. And it is keeping me from getting good housing that is why I live in I guess you’d call it a project now, that’ s why I live there now because he is keeping me from getting a good apartment, or house, whatever he was the reason for that.

Interviewer: So did you say worse or much worse?

Author: Much worse.

Compared to two years ago, my housing is much worse.

Interviewer: What feelings have you been experiencing the most lately? Describe how this influences your work and parenting, and whether you have sought help for any of these feelings.

Author: What feelings have I been experiencing most lately?

Interviewer: For example: Depression.

Author: No, I have been depressed for almost two years now and they can’t seem to put me on anything that helps. And, but I am going to school now and it keeps my mind off a lot of things so ya know I don’t have to worry that much. I have raised a baby for two years by myself and you know it is hard. It is hard; people don’t understand how hard it is. It is hitting me pretty good. So I understand that. Before I, like I said, I never had to worry about anything. Before I was married and didn’t have anybody there but my mom then when he got locked up, the baby’s daddy, it put pressure on all of us because my daughter, which belongs to my ex-husband Billy, [he] is the only Daddy that she knows. Because my ex-husband never comes around to get her and blah blah blah. And it it hurt her more that it hurt any of us, she is actually coping with it better than I did so.

Interviewer: So you said depression, are you feeling any others? No basic feelings sorrow, happiness, joy?

Author: Yeah, I am happy. From time to time, I feel sorry every now and again when I talk to Billy on the phone and the baby wants her Daddy to come home. That’s all she every talks about and that makes me feel sad from time to time.

Interviewer: Okay. Uh describe how these feelings influence your parenting.

Author: It don’t. I don’t do it, my kids come first. I don’t let anything interfere with that.

Interviewer: What about how these feelings influence your work?

Author: No.

Interviewer: Whether you sought any help for any of these feelings?

Author: Yes, I have been to Cherokee Mental Health and my regular doctor, she actually had me on something. I, I, I told you I was in the hospital over Christmas. We don’t know whether it was the depression medicine she had me on or the stop smoking medicine, so I stopped taking it all and now she is wanting to get me back in there is start me on something else. So I have been trying to get something for it.

Compared to two years ago, my emotional well being is much worse.

6. EMPLOYMENT

Interviewer: Tell us about your current or last job.

Author: I worked at the General Store. God, it’s been, uh, I think I quit in October, maybe I worked there four months. I liked that job. I really did. I quit to go back to school

Interviewer: Okay. Describe the type of job, whether the wages, benefits, and hours are/were sufficient.

Author: They went around my kids' schedule so it was really working with me.

Interviewer: Okay, what about wages?

Author: My wages, I worked for $5.75 [an] hour, so that was fair, that was what they allowed.

Interviewer: What about benefits?

Author: Not unless you were full-time.

Interviewer: You said that was at the General Store?

Author: Yes it was.

Interviewer: What did you do there?

Author: I, I was a cashier there. I put stock up and unloaded the truck on Sundays if I could work on Sundays. I did a lot of different things. They was training me to step up as a manager because the manager was leaving but they couldn’t do that because my best friend was already a manager so they couldn’t make me manager but they was training me as a backup.

Interviewer: Okay, what kinds of training and advancement opportunities there were, if any.

Author: Um they were training to do everything, they showed me how to count down the money and everything.

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

[scale does not apply because author is currently not working.]

Interviewer: What, if anything, has changed for you as a result of your involvement with the Family Service Counseling program? You can talk about any area of your daily life, but you might consider the subjects we have been talking about:

• the way you run your household
• your children’s behavior
• the way you handle your basic needs
• your housing situation
• the way you feel and how you are doing personally
• your job situation

Author: I think the reason that I came to Family Service Counseling is because my kids' behavior.

Interviewer: Okay. Has anything changed because of your involvement in Family Service Counseling?

Author: Yeah, but I don’t know because their attitude has changed a lot since their Aunt comes around a lot more. They tend to listen to somebody more than they do me, so as long as they have someone other than me telling them what to do, other than me. They have kinda built up a wall up around them and, 'that’s mamma talking and I don’t hear her.' That is basically what they do. So.

Interviewer: So they have more support? Okay.

Your community or neighborhood of residence: North Knoxville

Gender: Female

Last year of school completed: 11th grade

GED: Yes

Race: White

Ethnicity: Cherokee/Irish

Does your partner, spouse or co-parent live in the household? No

Do you currently receive any cash public assistance (TANF)? Yes

Manner in which story was originally given: