What does it mean to live the 2006 Federal Poverty Guidelines? May of our clients live in the margins. They can't make enough money to make ends meet. Many earn only minimum wage.
In this post, let's look at what it means to be a single mom with two kids faced with the possibility of fleeing from an abuser.
An employee making $7.85 x 40 hours a week x 52 weeks earns $16,328.00 annually or $1,360.00 monthly. That's $272.00 under the poverty level. It's also above the current minimum wage of $6.55 an hour by $1.30 an hour.
The other problem is that many employers don't want to pay overtime. To reduce the risk they will commonly schedule an employee for 35 hours a week - some will schedule less. The scenario above also assumes that the employee will not take a vacation and will not suffer an unpaid work day for illness or any other reason.
Fortunately, we are just outside of Knoxville, TN. According to one study our cost of living is below the national average. That's good news. The median cost of an apartment in Knoxville for 2007 was $638.00. It also leaves just over $700 in the monthly budget for a car, food, utilities, phone and medicines - unless you have to pay day care. The average price for preschool care in Knoxville is $120 to $140 per week.
Even help from food stamps or subsidized rent often isn't enough. That is why we see familiar faces at our food pantry, Angel Food distribution and free clothing days.
Many victims of domestic violence have little in the way of education and job experience. Low wage earning capabilities, combined with the above mentioned hurdles, make it difficult to impossible for a woman to free herself from the chains of domestic violence. For many women, leaving an abuser means having to accept an existence of substandard housing, begging from food pantries and a trail of bills they cannot pay.
Please think about this the next time you hear about a victim. If you are given the opportunity to donate to a battered women's program, please do so.
No comments:
Post a Comment