Comments from a few of our clients

 Here are some brief comments from a few of our clients about some of the obstacles they face in their lives.

Over the last year, Athens County Job and Family Services has invited our clients to tell us about some of the challenges and struggles they are facing.

As Ohio’s leaders deliberate over the state’s next two-year budget, we will be posting a few of these comments each week so that you can hear from some of our neighbors about the obstacles they face every day. We hope our leaders will look at how the budget impacts families who are just trying to survive, instead of only looking at the budget as a series of numbers and dollar signs. 

We encourage you to take a few moments to read over the comments. Thank you for your time and thoughtful consideration.

“I am a single father of two, trying to care for them the best I can while trying to obtain employment.  I have no help besides housing by my relatives.  I am left to pay for medical, food expenses and with no employment at the same time.”

“I am a waitress at a local restaurant and my wages depends on people’s generosity to leave tips.  When the economy is struggling it affects me and everyone in this kind of job.  I make $2.15 per hour plus tips.  I am lucky to have a paycheck of $50.00-$60.00 every two weeks.  It would be nice if we made minimum wage plus tips.  I don’t know how people with children and families live.”

“My biggest problem is transportation, gas for transportation to and from doctor’s appointments. For the past 4 to 5 months, I ran out of food. I have four kids in the household for the first time in my life.  I’m 38-years-old and my kids were hungry. No way to get help transportation-wise, and twice there were no food boxes left to get. The food just isn’t lasting as long as it was before. And I’ve talked with the other people. It’s not just me. They are experiencing similar problems. This also makes it hard to pay other bills like electric, etc., because I’m spending more money on food.”