Sometimes, it can be exhausting being a mother in America. Even for those who are married and have an income, disaster can strike and throw everything upside-down within seconds. As we know, most Americans can’t even afford one single emergency. Now, a Connecticut woman is sharing her feelings after she found herself in a desperate situation. She wants people to know that nobody is a bad person just for relying on any type of government assistance. For some reason, the world just wants to make people feel this way.
Hannah (@thebalkanmama on TikTok) shared a video talking about her personal experiences being on food stamps. She tried to recertify her benefits and she said it didn’t work. So, she was left with no other option and appeared in person. Hannah was feeling scared about the fact that she could lose so much if she lost those benefits for her family. She said there were 37 people in line. While there, she met a single mom living in a shelter and a pregnant woman. She goes on to say that people come from all walks of life and “none of that bothers me. It doesn’t. And that’s the difference between me and you.” Because so many people will judge a parent or just a person in need in general.
In the end, they told Hannah that it would be two weeks until her benefits made it back to her account. She tearfully explains that the USDA, a government program, has to approve of it first. As she says, our government is too busy “protecting pedophiles” and “government officials are furloughed” at this time. This is a government that doesn’t care about its people and families are seeing that. She said that, now, she isn’t able to afford her baby’s formula.
Hannah said that there aren’t too many people out there who would have helped her in this situation. So many people are pushed into a bad situation due to the state of our country. She says that her family and people like her are “people you look down on every day.” And why are we treating literal families like this? It appears that we need to be looking at billionaires and our own presidential administration in this way. As Hannah stated, “If you voted for this, just know that you’re taking food out of children’s mouths.”
One commenter stated, “And MAGA claims to be Pro Life. Shame on them.” Another person shared, “Raised by a single parent. We had to be on food stamps and Medicaid. 3 out of 4 of my siblings and I graduated from college. Thank you Pell grants. Today we are tax paying citizens! I 100% support helping people and NOT corporations and billionaires! #REVOLUTION!” Lastly, a commenter shared, “I work for social services & I get asked all the time ‘How can you work with those people?’ I always respond with ‘You mean human beings?’ How can I work/help humans?” This is exactly what Hannah says when she means that people don’t understand. We live in an every-man-for-himself world and that’s our biggest problem. With more empathy, maybe there will be more change.
