Sara*, Social Worker and Single Mother

“I’m in a ‘Catch 22.’ I make too much money to ask for assistance and not enough to fully cover all of my expenses.”

Sara works as a full-time case manager at a local non-profit where she serves teen mothers. She is a 33-year-old college graduate and single mother of a nine-year-old daughter. Sara considers herself to be one of the region’s many working poor.
“The perception is that I don’t need food stamps or other assistance because I have a full-time job. I was on WIC when my child was born, but that didn’t last because a raise at work put me two dollars a month over the program cutoff.”

Sara works hard at more than one job to make ends meet for her and her daughter. Sara is willing to forgo having a car to save money, but having one is a requirement of her job. So with all the usual expenses it takes to run a household—food, rent, utilities, car payments, and insurance, as well as appropriate work clothes for herself and school clothes for her child—Sara says she is “one paycheck away from the curb.” For Sara, the dream of homeownership is out of reach.

“The bottom line is that the amount of money I make is not enough to cover my basic expenses. Buying a house is out of the question. I certainly can’t buy a house because the note would be more than $500.00 a month. I budget. I have cut out everything I can possibly cut out. Every month everybody has to get paid something so I can maintain my credit rating, but I still need a part-time job or second income to make ends meet.”

Five hundred dollars is the most Sara can afford to spend on her housing, and saving for a down payment seems impossible. She wonders how other social workers at her place of employment manage. Some even do own their own homes.

“I asked everyone there how they do it. Everyone has two-earner households and they all say they couldn’t make it without two sources of income. When my child’s father was with us, we did all right. I do get child support, which helps with the groceries, but that’s not enough.”

Sara graduated from college, works in a professional field that she loves, and makes sure her daughter is receiving a good education. Sara is able to maintain stable housing, as long as housing costs stay within her means. She budgets and saves a little for retirement. Yet it is unlikely that this single mother and full-time social worker will be able to purchase a home without assistance.

*name changed for privacy