>> Woman: I decided to come to Green Bay because
I was down to my last dime.
After buying the bus ticket,
I was left with
thirty-seven cents.
Me and my kids,
we got on the bus.
I broke down a couple of times,
but I didn't let my kids see it.
And my oldest daughter, Shanice,
who's 12, she looked at me
and she said, "Don't cry, we're
going to change our life mom."
I never imagined myself
being homeless.
I don't think anyone does.
And to be homeless,
it takes a lot out of you.
>> The divorce went on forever.
Lots of money spent on that
for lawyers fees.
>> The father to my children
is currently incarcerated.
And that's pretty much
has been his home.
>> I started working at that
time, and it was difficult
to try to manage my son's health
and a full-time job,
and the marriage just sort of
fell apart.
>> I mean, it's something
that you never think you're
gonna have to go through, or...
I never thought I'd move
back up here and been homeless.
>> Poverty is always going
to be there.
Single women are going to be
the highest numbers that are
in poverty, because they have,
most of them have children
that they are also
having to provide for.
>> We've seen a continuing
change in American family
structure.
So that now what is referred to
as the "Ozzie and Harriet" model
of dad is away at work
and mom is at home, and the boys
come home from school and say,
"Hey mom, we're here.
Where are the cookies?"
That's, that's less than 25%
of all families.
>> Most people don't enjoy
this lifestyle.
I mean, they don't enjoy working
three jobs, and going from
place to place, and have people
look at them like, you're just
here for the benefits
and be treated poorly.
It's a tiring lifestyle.
>> I have three children.
The oldest is Zane.
He is 16.
Had a heart transplant at birth,
cancer, and now he battles
his lung disorder.
Then there's my Tyler,
who took the role, I believe,
of the father
when his dad and I got divorced.
And then there's my Grace,
which when I found out
I was pregnant with her,
I thought how am I possibly
going to do this?
But she came, and now
we know why she's here.
She's here to get all of us
through this.
>> My oldest son Marlon,
his father was murdered.
So with him, I wasn't left
any other choice, but to have to
raise him on my own.
I've never imagined being
a single parent,
but it happened.
>> Living in Milwaukee
was really hard.
Drive by, I stayed on
22nd and Brown, which is
probably one of the worst
neighborhoods down there.
And with the drive-bys, and with
the drugs, and everything else
that was right in my block,
right in my neighborhood.
I didn't want to raise Cassandra
down there.
I was also pregnant with Frankie
and didn't want to raise her
there either.
>> Divorce played a huge part
in this.
My ex-husband and I make
about the same amount of money,
so child support plus my income,
that's how I got into
the situation with living
in a two-bedroom apartment.
That's all I could afford.
And when you're trying to raise
three children, it's very
difficult on my income.
>> A challenge was wondering
if I was going to be able
to make enough money to pay
the rent, and utilities,
and the phone bill,
keep my kids in good health.
>> It's hard to budget food.
You know, how much food
do we need, or how much money
am I gonna take out of my budget
for groceries this week.
I utilize the Share Program.
>> You know, going to the
register, you know, pulling out
the Quest Card, and sometimes
it doesn't scan.
You know, and I'm holding up
the line and, oh, you know
people are like behind me
making noises.
That was embarrassing.
Sometimes, I would
just leave my groceries
sitting on the table.
>> I feel very strongly that if
someone is gonna be judgmental,
because somebody pulls out
a food stamp card
at the grocery store, then
that person's the one
with the problem and the issue,
not the client.
>> The system isn't
user-friendly.
So, for somebody to say,
"Well, just go get another job,"
well the jobs are low paying,
the jobs don't have benefits.
The real life issue is
that your kids get sick,
and you get sick,
and you don't have insurance,
and then you go to the clinic,
and they want money up front,
so you're trying to figure
all of this together,
the system has to start working.
>> You know, it's always said,
and this is an old saying
from the south,
"It's the mother's baby
and the daddy's maybe."
And that basically means to me,
you know, a mother has to
always take care of her child,
but when a father gets tired
he can pack up and move
and leave, and don't have to do
any responsibility.
You know, it's not fair,
but that's just the way life is.
>> I think fathers should be
just as responsible as mothers.
They helped to create the child.
They should also help
raise the child.
>> Oh, yeah, child support
is one of the biggest issues,
and why a lot of our moms
are living in poverty,
and why they're low-income,
because you have
a lot of deadbeat dads.
You got a lot of dads that,
you know, not always,
you know that's not always
the situation,
but a good portion
>> I have so many people, and
I've experienced this myself,
child support was ordered,
insurance was supposed to be
provided, it doesn't come.
Now I'm facing eviction,
or my child is sick,
the clinic won't treat them
unless I have the $50 co-pay,
so I'm either going to go
to the cash store
to get the $50 loan,
now I'm stuck in that cycle,
or I'm going to use
a high interest credit card
>> Some of the road blocks
that I had
getting to where I am now,
were daycare issues.
With the healthcare field,
you know, working 3-11 or 2-10,
I had a hard time finding
availability in a daycare
for the girls, which
dampered me from being able
to take certain jobs
that paid more.
Transportation was another one,
having not so much that I didn't
have transportation, but
having reliable transportation
>> A lot of times, the daycares
aren't located on bus lines.
And that's another issue for
somebody that works third shift.
Daycares aren't open
third shift.
So there again, those
two pieces, the transportation
and the daycare.
>> I would love, with our
program, to be able to give
a voucher to a client,
if I have a client
that is doing everything
they need to be doing,
and they're going to school,
and they're job searching, etc.,
there's not a bus that
goes where they need to go,
if I could give them a voucher
to use a cab,
that would be phenomenal.
>> When you've got three kids
in tow, to say, "Well take the
bus to come downtown," and now
"Take the bus to go over here,"
it's difficult to get your kids
on there, the busses don't run,
you know, I mean they run
on a regular basis, but you
sometimes you're are out there
waiting an hour for the bus.
>> Financially, the worst
situation that I was in was
not being able to pay rent,
not being able to pay my bills.
You're getting like,
30-day notices in the mail,
because, you know, the lights
may get turned off, you know,
and it's really nothing
that you can do about it.
>> Affordable housing
is a tough issue.
You know, you have some people
that landlords are great,
landlords
charge a reasonable rate.
They keep up with the place.
They are on top of everything.
And then, you're always going
to have landlords that aren't.
So, single moms, if they can
get into affordable housing,
and they can get into affordable
housing with a voucher program,
that's great.
I mean, they really,
that's their first step.
That's their first step
to going down that path of being
able to provide for themselves
and their families.
>> Like now, I don't have
a dollar in my pocket.
But I'm okay, because my kids
have a roof over their head,
food in the kitchen,
and hot water, lights and gas.
I'm okay.
>> I see the working poor.
We don't have a living wage.
I mean, when you when you
hear about what it would take
what somebody needs to make
in order to afford an apartment,
we don't have jobs like that.
People generally
have to have two jobs
>> I think there's no
greater shame in our society
than a woman or man
who works full-time year round,
maybe at two jobs or three jobs
and still can not make it.
I mean, they're doing all
we ask of them as a society
to do, and they still
cannot make it for themselves
or their children.
And that just is unjust.
And we've got to somehow
create a better set of rules
in the game.
>> When I entered into
the FSS program, the Family
Self-Sufficient Program,
I actually was on housing
for two years.
>> The clients get into the
situations for lots of reasons.
Lots of reasons.
There could be a divorce.
There can be a death of a spouse
or a significant other,
that all of the sudden, bam,
throws them into this.
You know, they've never worked.
They've never been
the bread winner.
>> I knew for me, it was
just time for me
to step out of my box
and start doing what I said
I was gonna do, or was saying
what I was gonna do.
Part of it going to school,
cleaning up my credit,
stop blaming everybody else,
stop blaming the system.
I mean, those are things
that all took place when
I got on the program, or once
I got involved with the program.
>> Terry has a lot of potential.
She just needed somebody
to get it out in the forefront.
Same thing, same thing.
She needed somebody pushing her
with those steps.
Break it down.
You want to do this.
You want to do nursing,
then let's start here.
Let's start here
with the education.
Let's take one course.
Don't try to take two, or five
or six courses.
Let's start with one.
Let's get past that one.
Come out of it.
She came out a that one
with an A.
Wow, let's try two now.
>> I work at San Luis Medical
and Rehab Center.
I'm a med tech there,
as well as a CNA.
I'm right underneath the LPNs.
I just pass the medications
to the residents.
And I mean, its taking vitals,
and doing some
of the treatment plans.
Sometimes, just DonElla
telling you, "You know,
I know you can do this."
You know, trying to obtain
a goal, makes a world
of difference.
'Cause I have family support,
but it's not always--
It's not the same.
I don't have any brothers
or sisters.
I know that my parents are
proud of me, but their support
was totally different
from what I got from DonElla.
>> And often, what people need
is they need that cheerleader.
They need the person to help
them stay the course, and say,
"Yeah, things don't look
good right now, but look what
you've accomplished."
>> I was afraid to ask
for a lot of things, you know,
but you have to open your mouth
to get what you need sometimes.
And I just started to ask.
I didn't care anymore.
I need help with this.
Do you think
you can help me that?
I'm not ashamed anymore.
I'm proud.
So, if I need help, I can ask.
And I'm not ashamed to ask.
>> Take April for an example.
Eighth grade,
ninth grade education.
No income.
And into the program,
on the housing program,
into the FSS program, started
working on her high school,
got her CNA, took extra courses
after the CNA,
got a couple of raises,
got a promotion.
And now she's on her own.
Yeah, education is the way
to go through it.
>> When I met DonElla
the program was just--
It was blunt.
It was these are your goals.
You set your own goals.
I'm just here to support you.
>> What happens is, if we have
someone come in, and we really
know that they need to work
with budgeting, and we know
that we want them to get
not just budget counseling,
there's actually a course
that Bobby does.
It's a three-week course called
"Credit When Credit is Due."
>> In society today, most people
don't learn anything
about budgeting,
whether you're wealthy
or you're middle income
or you're poor.
You don't learn about
budgeting and finances.
It's not there.
>> Learning how to budget is the
key, I think, for me here now,
where I am now.
>> If you are going to try
to become self sufficient,
if you're going to try
to provide for your family,
and do it on
an eighth-grade education,
a ninth-grade education,
tenth grade,
It's not gonna happen.
It's simply not there.
You're gonna get
the minimum paying jobs.
>> You know, at 37, it's not
easy to go back to school, and
sit in a classroom
with a whole bunch of--
They weren't even my peers.
I mean, I am sitting with
people that are, some of them
were right out of high school.
>> The labor market places
a higher and higher premium,
on having higher
and higher education,
and then higher skills.
On the other hand,
there are many paths
to achieve those skills.
If the single mother
and children can find ways
of dealing with the
responsibilities of motherhood,
as well as responsibilities
of training themselves
in a community college,
or going to college
or trade school, or the like,
to move up the skills ladder.
>> I think one of the most
important things that I can
tell any of the single moms
when they come into the program
is that they are capable.
And they don't have to drag
the baggage around with them
for the rest of their lives.
And they can succeed.
And they can make a difference
with their life,
and in other peoples lives,
their kid's lives.
>> As a community, we need
to stick together
and support one another.
You know, have the resources,
or try to find the resources
to help people like myself.
You know, people that was in
situations that I was in.
Good afternoon everyone,
four years ago,
I just wanted to enlighten
you all where I was in my life.
I was homeless.
I told DonElla that I wouldn't
cry, but I can't help it.
I was homeless.
No parents,
both parents are deceased.
The youngest of three children.
And it's just a tremendous
feeling, because I feel
so free today.
I've worked so hard.
This program is just
so supportive.
And the best thing about it
is these were my goals
that I wanted to do.
No one put this, and told me
you have to do this.
This was something that
I wanted to do.
And I achieved everything.
>> I've been on and off
of help from the county
for several years, since I moved
back to Green Bay in '92.
I have two teenage daughters,
one who's 16, and one who's 14,
both with Attention Deficit.
And there are many struggles
there alone.
I went back to school at NWCT,
as she mention.
And I have my certificate
as a medication assistant.
And I am trying to
further my career
in going into the RN Program.
I also want to say that
I have worked hard
in clearing up my credit issues.
And I'm still not all the way
there.
I still have a few more to go.
But I applied for a loan
within the last month,
for purchasing a home,
and received that loan
as well as found a home in which
I look forward to purchasing.
(applause)
>> It just, I can't explain
how it makes me feel.
I'm glad.
I'm proud.
It's amazing to me
that I got it, you know,
I didn't think
that I would get the loan.
So, it just feels really good
to have something
that I can call my home.
And it really is mine.
>> My parents, some of my
family members,
one of my children, helped move
all of the furniture,
all of the boxes, helped do
a lot of the packing,
and got everything set up.
I wanted to make sure
that everything,
spiritually within myself,
and for the girls was...
we knew it was all real,
that it was a reality.
>> This is the Johnson home.
And we're so thrilled
that you have a new home.
And the Bible says that
unless the Lord builds the home,
they labor in vain.
And here we are,
and you've worked hard,
you've accomplished so much,
Terri Lee,
and the girls have helped you.
And right now, we're going to
ask the Lord to bless this home.
And as I said, if the walls
could talk and tell all
the secrets of over 100 years,
it was tell of joys and sorrows.
>> To have the pastor come over
and just bless every room
so that we when we walk
through this door, we know
that we're blessed to have
what we have now.
A lot of two-parent families
I know don't have a home, and
they struggle with their rent.
And we still have some of those
struggles, but I know
it's just a blessing to have it.
(laughter and talking)
>> Good job!
I just moved into a new home,
and it's a big change.
It's a difference.
A lot a people have actually
seen a different,
a change in my attitude.
You know, I seem so much freer
It's a feeling like,
this is where I need to be.
This is what--
I don't know,
it's not a mansion.
I'm still nervous, because
I've never had a nice place
like this.
So there are some things that
I just don't do, because I'm
nervous, like use my dishwasher.
I still haven't used
the dishwasher, and I've
been here for like a month.
But I'm just nervous,
because I've never had it.
But that's when you learn
to appreciate the little things.
And trust and believe.
My family and I,
we really appreciate this.
And we're so happy.
And we're at home.
>> Those two will
never take it for granted.
They'll never take any of those
kinds of things for granted,
because they know the struggles.
They know where they were.
They know where they started.
And they know
where they're at now.
Big difference.
>> Through divorce and some unfortunate circumstances,
so I was unable
to get a normal mortgage.
So due to that circumstance,
I was able to apply
for a Habitat home.
>> The goal of Habitat
is to provide simple, decent,
and affordable housing.
So one of the primary goals
is always make sure that house
is affordable for the family.
>> We have these numbers
on these.
We could add a line.
I got into the Habitat program
through work, actually.
My Human Resource person
had handed my boss
a flyer on Habitat.
She then approached me and said,
"What do you think
about Habitat for Humanity?"
And I said, "Wonderful, who
are we building a house for?"
She looked at me and she said,
"No it's for you."
And I'm like, no,
there's just no way.
What're you thinking?
>> She had three kids
and herself living in
a very small two-bedroom house.
And she was sharing a bedroom
with her four-year-old daughter.
Her oldest son was in
a wheelchair at periodic times
throughout the year, and she
was in a second-floor apartment,
which meant that she was
carrying a teenage boy
up the steps, and then
back down the steps to get him
where he needed to be.
It just it wasn't working
>> After I was told that
we were going to be
the next partner family,
it was fabulous.
I couldn't wait.
I didn't know
who I was gonna tell first.
>> I work at Bellin Hospital,
and they have been
very supportive.
They put out a memo
to all employees that couldn't
actually work on the house,
or even if they could,
they could donate
paid time off.
Every Thursday, I get paid
time off to work on my house.
>> It's such a warm feeling.
Just yesterday,
I know I saw Roger.
He comes in a lot.
And he always has a warm smile.
Knowing that he helped
with my house blessing,
it's always a comforting
feeling.
>> It's awesome.
It's just awesome seeing
the walls go up,
and being a part of that.
I mean, actually pushing
your own walls up.
>> To own my own home
is a fabulous blessing,
because it is my home.
I take care of it.
I make the payments.
I mow the lawn.
I take care of everything I can.
>> To go from pulling up
and seeing stakes in the ground
to a foundation,
to having it framed in,
and a roof, and I just can't
even put it into words
how I feel.
It's just overwhelming.
It doesn't even feel real
at this point.
>> I actually had somebody
at work come up to me one time
and say, "Why do you work?
I mean, you can make more money
not working, with your son."
And I said,
"It just isn't for me."
Not that it's not okay
for others, but I need to show
my kids that I can do this.
And it's always for your kids.
I just knew that they need
to see a strong woman,
a strong figure in their life,
and I could do it.
So you just keep trying.
>> I think Freedom House
and the Salvation Army
are places that you--
are places that I
need to give back to.
I know I've given a donation
to the Freedom House once
since I've been away.
And I always think I'm going
to go back and donate time.
>> To be able to pass it on
to another family,
another single mom,
that's the only way I can
say thank you, is to give back.
>> I think you need to be
a role model to your kids.
I tell them all the time
you can be what you want to be
but, you know, if I'm not
showing them or I'm not striving
to do that for myself,
they're not
going to believe you.
>> My hopes and dreams
for my children
are that they can go on
with some continuing education
and choose something
that they will be good at.
>> I hope my kids learn,
take away from this,
that they can find the strength
even when they don't really
feel like they want to get up
and move, that they will,
because their mom did it.
And that means
they can do it, too.
You can't ever give up hope.
Sometimes that's all you have.
>> I consider myself
as the rich poor.
I'm poor, 'cause I still
manage to live from pay check
to pay check,
but I'm rich
because I'm doing it on my own,