Saturday, October 8, 2011

Mich. shrinks safety net for poor as poverty rises

Michele Shoemaker spent Wednesday packing, faced with a weekend deadline to leave the simple two-bedroom rental in Jackson where she and her 15-year-old son have lived for five years. About to be cut off from welfare and with no job, she has sent him to live with her sister and his cousins, but there's no room for her.

Shoemaker, 38, said Medicaid will cover the costs of treating her bipolar disorder and painful fibromyalgia, but even if she could find a job after 10 years on welfare, perhaps as a waitress or cook, it would be hard to keep because of her mood swings. She's losing her home and has no place to go, but she says the hardest thing is the loss of her son.

"I want him home and I don't even have a home for him to come to," she said, fighting through tears.

Read more: www.bradenton.com/2011/10/05/3551412/mich-shrinks-safety-net-for-poor.html#ixzz1aDV3ggKm

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