I was asked to share my personal story of poverty and to speak to one or two of the most pressing issues poor people face. The thing is, when you’re poor, there isn’t really such a thing as one or two pressing issues, because your life is like a Jenga game, and if one block moves too quickly or from the wrong place, everything comes crumbling down.
My story of poverty is lifelong, and I’m so grateful to be able to join you this morning from my home here in West Virginia. You may be a little familiar with WV. Maybe you’ve sung a bar or two of “Country Roads” or have heard about Katherine Johnson from “Hidden Figures” or Steve Harvey, Brad Paisley or Jennifer Garner.
But what you may not know is that WV has over 300,000 people living in poverty. It’s said that 1 in 3 children, that’s 33%, under the age of 5 in WV are poor. So, when I am asked to share my story of poverty, my mind goes to the people I’ve met whose stories are far worse than mine. Sure, I’ve gone to bed hungry on countless nights because my kids wanted seconds. I’ve been screamed at by both of my kids that they are tired of being “the poor kids.” I’ve been the poor person buying a birthday cake for my kids with SNAP benefits and hiding it under my coat in the buggy because I knew what people would say. I’ve kept my family going during unemployment by cashing in my retirement savings and living off of my tax refund, praying that I would catch a break before the money was gone.
But my story of poverty is one of the pretty ones.
Life or Death
Poverty is trauma, regardless of who you are and how it came to be, and I feel as if I would be disobedient if I didn’t share with you stories of my West Virginia heroes. My heroes are women like my friend Amber who is a married mother of two boys, her youngest who is autistic and her oldest who has battled and beaten cancer twice in six years, beginning at the age of five. I told Amber yesterday that I was asked to speak to the plight of the poor and she said, “The plight of the poor is working your ass off at two jobs to provide for your family and STILL having to decide between bologna sandwiches and cereal for dinner for a week because that’s all you have left in your house to eat on Tuesday and payday isn’t until Friday.”
I am speaking to you because I want you to hear about Courtney. She is a divorced mother of three, the oldest, her son, being in the first grade and twins who just entered pre-k. Her son is a Hemophiliac. Courtney can’t work a full-time job because she needs to keep her assistance in order to keep her son alive. The gap with typical insurance makes his meds impossible to afford, so she works part-time, receives a disability check, food stamps, and controlled rent and will never be able to get ahead. Her son’s meds, with no bleeds or emergencies, cost $60,000 a MONTH. $60,000 a MONTH. And she has no other choice but to live in poverty to keep him alive.
I am speaking to you today because I want you to know my friend Jennifer and Michelle who have their own personal experiences of living in poverty but they’re black women. And even though you might hear what they’re saying, they would easily be dismissed because of the color of their skin, proving that we are still governed by a system of white supremacy and refuse to see the dire and deadly effects that poverty has on communities of color.
Man Made?
So, you see, there aren’t one or two pressing issues to poor folks. One sudden or unexpected move in any direction and we’re desperately fighting for our lives, whether that’s battling food insecurity, ridiculously unaffordable healthcare, or systemic racism. Poverty is man-made; it does not come from God. It is designed and perpetuated by those who craft hurtful policy; those who don’t know how to fix the problem because they’ve never had our problem.
I believe that we should be electing people who realize they have a responsibility to each and every one of us, the greater good; people who will listen and see past their privilege. They should want to immerse themselves into our communities and work with us, because we’re the experts on poverty, to come up with a solution that helps us turn our pain into power. Their risk should match the one my friends and I have just taken to share our stories.
- Amy Jo at the Nuns on the Bus Virtual Kickoff 9.24.20
