Victoria’s Read

Below is another one of the stories that will be shared during Nipissing Performs for Poverty which is part of Nipissing University’s Poverty Awareness Week.  Join us for the readings of stories like Rachel’s, along with music and dance performances on February 4th at 6:30pm at The Wall, all in an effort to raise awareness about local poverty. 

Rachel’s Story: Follow Up

I did everything the way I was supposed to. I graduated from high school with honors. I went to college, working the entire time so I wouldn’t have student loans. I continued to work, met a great guy and 7 years later I married him. We had two beautiful little girls.

Things should have been perfect. Somewhere along the way, things went horribly wrong. When my first was born, I lost my job because we had no daycare. We really struggled with that.  We were living on barely $1300 a month. For the first time in my life, I found myself in debt.  Thankfully, 6 months later, I found a new job. We got our debt back under control.

Now 3 years later, we’ve had daughter #2.  A blessing to be sure but she is sick. A rare congenital defect that is causing her many problems. The costs are adding up. We often travel to CHEO to ensure that she gets the proper care that she needs. We could have never seen this coming or planned for the added expenses. I am now once again without work because of daycare issues. I need a subsidized infant daycare spot and they are nearly impossible to find. 

I feel everything getting out of control again. We don’t have OW or ODSP, we have market rent, no low-income housing for us or any other assistance. We live on a tight budget of about $1300 a month.  Who can live on that? We have no desire to live by taking from others. It’s no one’s place to pay our way but us but sometimes, it’s so overwhelming that I cry myself to sleep. I want only to give my girls the best I can. Sometimes I wish I could do more.

When I can get my youngest daughter into daycare, I plan to return to the work force. Until then, I live with uncertainty and doubt.  I wake up at night and feel like a bad parent, a bad person. Sometimes I just want to scream.

It hurts me when I hear people say comments about families like mine. Like we shouldn’t have kids or that we’re wasteful or any other number of comments that are not always thought through. 

For more information on this event, please call 474-4000, Ext 351 or Email:rideshare@northbayspc.com