has anyone had to singly raise a child on their own without any financial help?

Question

i am doing a survey on single mothers and bearing children into poverty. If anyone has had to singly raise a child in poverty with no financial help, or if you have had financial help from what organization? please help me with this survey...I have a term paper due Thursday!! Thanks!

Answer 1

I am a single DAD! I raised THREE children by my self! If you want to do something original, do a paper on single dads, we are out there in greater numbers than most people realize.
It is no easier for a single dad, than it is for asingle mom. We just don't complain about it as much.
This my story;
My ex-wife developed mental illness(schizophrenia) and after living with it for 5 years it just got so bad I divorced her. At a bout the same time my employer of about 15 years decided to move all of their manufacturing facilities to South America. And then I developed diabetes. Then I was out of work for 3 years. When I got back to work I was making about 40% of my previous income. All that and I had 3 kids(2 b0ys & a girl) to care for and a mortgage. The only help I recieved was that my mother helprd me with my mortgage. I cannot count the number of times I came home from work and something was turned of-gas eletricity, phone, or water; and in the winter, out of fuel oil, there were many times when I was out there at 2 AM pouring 5 gallons of deisel fuel in the tank in -10 degree weather because I ran out. As a result of all that, I was unable to properly care for my diabetes, and now I suffer from heart disease, hypertension, kidney disease, severe nueropathy in feet legs and hands, have had cataracts in both eyes.
Then there was the matter of a car. It was always breaking down. If I could I would just let it go until I could get it fixed. But that didn't always happen either. Then there were home repairs and them were often let go.
My kids grew up in poverty. There was no money for dental care or medical care. But we made it somehow. One son has an AA in autobody repair, The other has a BFA, my daughter is still continuing her education and is married to a Marine-an Iraqi war veteran. I am a Vietnam veteran an a couple of years ago the Veteran Administration determined that my diabetes was caused by Agent Orange, so now my medical care is provided by the VA.

Answer 2

single mom of three work a full time job, my ex only pays child support about every 2 months and thats usually about 2-3 hundred dollars, just enough to keep him out of jail. I only make 14.30 an hour and work 40 hours a wek. I never get any overtime these days. I would call that poverty. Others may not. My car runs most of the time. I rent a house. We have food in the fridge, and cable tv so the kids can watch their favorite shows and a computer so they can do research for homework and mommy can play. Sometimes they get tired of pb&j sandwiches for lunch when they pack for school. But we dont get free lunches. And we dont ask for charity. Christmas will be rough. But I will get them a couple things they want. Which means rent will be late, and I may have to float a check at Kroger(the grocery store). But we will get by as we always do. Hope this helps, good luck with your paper! I went to college for two tears I know those papers can be rough!

Answer 3

When I was a single mom, my ex-husband sometimes paid his court ordered child support and sometimes not. He always manipulated it to when I needed it the most...that is when he wouldn't send the full amount or any at all. We actually were doing okay by my salary sometimes but when this became a regular habit, it put me behind on daycare and utility expenses and other bills. I could never catch up. I would ultimately have to get my attorney to sue for arrears and it got to be meaningless because I had to pay attorney fees. What helped me was the Childcare Assistance program that based the amount for daycare on my salary, and eventually Support Enforcement.

Answer 4

i have raised my daughter since she was born, all by myself with absolutley no child support or help from any government agency. she is 18 and finishing up her last year of high school. she will graduate with honors. i work hard at a low paying job with no medical or dental insurance for us. i have always had a roof to sleep under, a car to drive, and food to eat. it has never been easy and we do not live in luxury, but we have what we need. i have not pursued trying to get child support because her dad was physically abusive and i know its better not to have him in her life. she has grown up to be a mature and loving person. if anything, i think raising her alone has made us closer and i know she was brought up with good morals and values. it can be done, but yes it is hard.

Answer 5

I am no longer a single mother but i was.....of two children with no help besides medical from michigan medicaid...i lived in low income housing and had no job...oh was it hard.

Answer 6

single mom of 2..ages..12 daughter & 8 son....done it all by myself..their
sperm donars had a chance to be involved..they walked....i have 2 great kids..both strait a's students............when all else failed in raising them alone.
i decided to put God first.......IT'S ALL GOOD!!!!... we do just great, the 3 of us.
and we are very happy..goodluck on ur paper, hope u get an A..God Bless.