"you simply can't live off of $10,000 a year"

...is the statement that keeps running through my mind after a long conversation with my wonderful mother last night about my future. As most of you reading this should (?) know, I'm currently serving full-time with a service program. One giant aspect of this program is learning to live off of a stipend that reflects a salary of approximately $10,000 per year. This stipend amount is not random; it fluctuates depending on what the poverty level is considered in the county/state you're serving in. For me, serving in Benton County, Oregon, my earnings very closely reflect the gross yearly income that an individual of a family of one can receive to be categorized as "living in poverty."

>> I am living in poverty.
[& I say this not to receive pity, or to receive any type of extra attention at all, but rather to remind my friends/family/loved ones reading this that this is my reality, and to keep this in mind as you continue to read]

Recently, I have had the absolute honor to be offered another position within this same service program for next year, but with a different organization, which I admire very much. Unfortunately, the combination of personal finances and the transition to living in a new location makes accepting this position impossible. This reality is something that saddens me deeply, and not just because of my personal reasoning. This reality has quickly turned into my social justice "aha moment"...

[for the record: no, I am NOT alluding to Oprah, but in fact using a saying that takes us way back to 1939...! go figure]

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aha%20moment

Anyway, back to my moment, which actually takes us back to my mom's statement:

"You simply can't live off of $10,000 a year."

In case you didn't know, moms are the smartest people around, and mine totally hit the nail on the head with this one. I can't spend more than one year living off of this salary - I have student loans to pay back, a car payment to take over, food to buy, an apartment to pay for, a cat to feed, etc. But what's really challenging for me to accept are two things: 

1. first is swallowing the pill of accepting my privilege, which is an entirely different blog topic that I will just [try] not to get into tonight; 
2. the second is the very blunt reality that $10,000 - or, more generally, "the poverty level" - just isn't enough. Not for me, not for you, not for anyone. 

This is a difficult post for me to write because it is so personal, and because, if you know me at all, you know that I prefer to avoid conflict and this can be a very controversial issue. However, it's important for me to speak on behalf of others living at or below this poverty level in our country - for all of the brilliant, beautiful, and kindhearted people I've met in my experiences volunteering and learning about this social issue. It's important for others to remember to consider each individual as just that - an individual - and not to adhere to the stereotypes and assumptions made about the poor, the homeless, and/or the hungry. 

Imagine your life on $800 or less per month - how do you think your life would change? Who do you think would stay in it? Would you know where to go for help? What would you give up?

I've been seeing posts like this surface on friends' Facebook and Pinterest accounts lately:

And, as terrifying as it is for me to do this, I'd like to address this head-on.

I have an iPhone.
I qualify for food stamps.
My phone is a gift from my mom and step-dad.

Consider the power of owning an iPhone. Having access to this incredible piece of technology means you can possibly sell your laptop/desktop computer if it means making quick money. It means cutting your home phone AND Internet bill to make ends meet. It means still having Internet connection if you lose your home. It means constant access to email in case that lifesaving job offer finally comes through. It means saving the time/money it would take to sit at a public library's computer waiting for said email. It means being able to search day in and day out for another opportunity if said offer doesn't work out.

Please put yourself in the shoes of that girl with the iPhone in front of you with food stamps. Would you relinquish that control and connection to the outside world if you were to lose everything tomorrow?

I am not to say that we shouldn't be wary. There are certainly people that take advantage of the welfare system and we can continue to challenge our leaders to ensure that these services are being utilized correctly. But please, please lead by example: do not attack the individual, as you don't know their story.

Choose Hope in these strangers in front of you in the grocery line, in your neighbors, in your friends, in your family, in me. It may come off as hokey, but it's true - if we focus more on living together rather than so separately, we will never have to worry about these things again in the long run.  

[Better yet, these brilliant "e-cards" can go back to being the good, wholesome, sarcastic fun they were so many [months?] ago!]