October 17, 2019 | by Sue Miyamoto
If you have grown up middle class, if you are married with two jobs and good health insurance, you live in a bubble where you have a job, where you pay your bills on time, where you don’t have to worry about spending too much money for groceries or stay up at night wondering how you will pay for heat in the winter. Probably most of your friends live in that bubble too, and are often unaware of the needs in our community.
Yet the Middle Class bubble can burst due to job loss, incredibly expensive health bills, or due to divorce. Suddenly, your comfortable world changes. You are worrying about every dollar. You may become homeless. As a teacher, I saw this happen to some wonderful families. Some lost their homes, and others were scraping by month to month.
The U.S. Federal Government shutdown of 2018 – 2019 showed how vulnerable middle class workers are, when federal workers with good jobs were suddenly, without a paycheck, and appearing at Food Banks. Most people do not have adequate savings to last long without a paycheck. Some of the people who come to Aunt Dot’s Place had their middle class bubble burst. Others work minimum wage jobs and are having trouble surviving on their pay.
Help Aunt Dot’s be there for our community by volunteering, by hosting a food drive, or by donating food or money.