Our mental image may not match the reality of what poverty looks like — When we think of poverty, in the US, we generally think of the panhandler we might give some change to or the homeless person on the street. Poverty takes many forms, it wears many outfits; it’s like mental illnesses, an invisible problem. Poverty is the state of being extremely poor. …

How one snack led to learning how to walk again — You know that feeling where you are ready to give up? That surrendering is the only option? It could be a mental health thing where your brain is telling you to toss in the towel. Or maybe it’s an overwhelming situation like unemployment. …

A lack of pay transparency leads to a lot of issues, salary range disclosure in job postings is the first step to fixing them — I opened up LinkedIn to find a message from a recruiter in my inbox. They saw my profile and thought I was a great fit for their role. They invited me to apply, if I was interested, and asked that I let them know what I decided to do. The…

The instructions that forever changed my life — My boyfriend was a “rockstar” in a local band and a lot of my friends were the wives and girlfriends of other band members. We were close. We always had a good time together. But the validity of those friendships was suddenly challenged by my boyfriend. He was tired of…

Seven days: From self-harm to new beginnings — I had never experienced psychiatric whiplash, and I hope to never experience it again.

I’ve applied for both and received approval, but the process hasn’t been the same — I submitted my application to Social Services on a Wednesday. I was there for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), but when I clicked to apply I was greeted with a list of programs I could apply for… with this one application. I elected to apply for SNAP and any other…

She’s being kicked when she was down, by the programs meant to help her up — The fall felt endless like she would never land on her feet again, and as much as the fall was an optical illusion, it was also real. The spiral of black and white titles, covered in instructions, statements, comments, self-loathing, and other useless pieces. She looked down, briefly returning to…

This small appliance that we put our feet onto, can insight terror into some — As I was getting ready, brushing my hair, I glanced over and saw the bathroom scale and immediately looked back into the mirror. The scale lives behind the master bedroom trash can. The scale scares me. …

Can you get out if you are pulled under? — The river of dread overcame me, like the dam keeping it back couldn’t hold any longer and the river had to pass through. The river was littered, those upstream didn’t seem to care and so down came their trash. The unwanted goods. It is beside me how they were able…